** charts before earnings **
** charts after earnings **
L Brands Inc. on Thursday raised its profit outlook for the recently ended fourth quarter, though the parent of retailers such as Victoria’s Secret reported a surprise decline in a key sales metric in January.
L Brands, which also owns mall stalwart Bath & Body Works, said it now expects earnings of $2.05 a share, above its earlier guidance for earnings of $1.85 to $1.95. That would also top the $2 a share analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are forecasting for the quarter.
L Brands also said it has boosted its annual dividend by 20% to $2.40 and announced a $2 special dividend, payable March 4. The company added that it has authorized a $500 million share-buyback program.
But the company said comparable sales, which exclude newly opened and closed stores, fell 2% in January, while analysts had expected a 2.4% increase, according to Consensus Metrix. L Brands cited the shift of the Victoria’s Secret semiannual sale into December for the decline.
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