Guess reports Q4 EPS $2.01, consensus $1.56

Reports Q4 revenue $891.1M, consensus $855.5M. Carlos Alberini,CEO, commented, “We are very pleased with our fourth quarter results, which exceeded our expectations for revenues, operating earnings and earnings per share, and capped an outstanding year for our Company. We grew revenues by 9% for the quarter and 3% for the year. We grew GAAP earnings per share by 40% to $3.09 and adjusted earnings per share by 15% to $3.14. Our disciplined approach in managing the business enabled us to deliver $330 million of operating cash flow and $248 million of free cash flow and end the year with a cash position of $360 million, well ahead of our expectations. As a result of this strong performance, we are pleased to share that our Board has declared a Special Dividend of $2.25 per share to be paid in May, in line with our commitment to return capital directly to shareholders. Looking forward, we are excited about our plans for the new fiscal year. We believe we are at an inflection point, and we expect to exceed $3 billion in revenues for the first time in our Company’s history with a solid growth plan for our core business, the integration of rag & bone into our portfolio and the launch of Guess Jeans to capture the demand from Generation Z consumers. Our business model is strong and highly diversified, we have great products that are resonating well with our customers, we are well positioned with a strong capital structure and have a great team very capable and ready to execute on our ambitions.” Paul Marciano, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, commented, “We saw strong brand momentum all over the world and are very pleased with how our customers are responding to our collections across all our product categories. Our results this past year are a strong testament that our brand elevation strategy and the transformation of our business are taking hold and creating strong value. I want to take this opportunity to thank our teams for a job well done this year. Regarding the future, we are very excited. We have built a powerful global platform that will enable us to drive the development and expansion of our Guess and Marciano businesses, as well as rag & bone, which we are thrilled to be adding to our portfolio through our first acquisition since Guess was created 43 years ago.” Mr. Alberini concluded, “