Estee Lauder sees 1Q results higher than expected

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NEW YORK -Estee Lauder Cos. said Friday it will post fiscal first-quarter earnings that are "significantly" higher than the cosmetics company anticipated because of new product launches, growth in Asia and higher customer traffic in its travel retail business.

In August, Estee Lauder forecast first-quarter earnings between 23 cents and 30 cents per share. That excludes restructuring charges, which the company did not quantify.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect profit of 25 cents per share.

In premarket trading, Estee Lauder rose $2.38, or 6.1 percent, to $41.50.

First-quarter sales were strong, Estee Lauder said, because of new product launches, growth in Asia, customer traffic in the company's travel retail business and improved foreign currency translation.

The company also benefited from earlier holiday shipments that were previously anticipated for the fiscal second quarter.

Estee Lauder said it will increase earnings per share guidance for the full fiscal year ending June 30, when reporting first-quarter results on Oct. 30. That excludes charges associated with restructuring activities.

For the rest of the fiscal year, Estee Lauder will boost investment spending to support its brands.

2009-10-16 09:04:04