Signet Jewelers posts better-than-expected holiday sales, increases outlook

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 16, 2020

Signet Jewelers Limited, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry, announced holiday sales that exceeded its expectations on Thursday, results which led the company to revise up its guidance for both the fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2020.

 
The Hamilton, Bermuda-based company reported an increase of 1.6% in its same-store sales for the nine-week period ended January 4, 2020, with same-store sales in North America rising 2.0%.
 
This growth was led by improvements in the retailer’s e-commerce channel, where sales increased 13.5%, going some way to offset a decrease of 2.0% in Signet’s brick-and-mortar same-store sales.

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Particularly strong same-store sales were seen at the company’s James Allen banner, where they rose 26.9%, followed by Piercing Pagoda, which posted a same-store sales increase of 6.9%, and Zales, where the rise was 5.4%.

The retailer’s Jared and regional banners fared less well, posting decreases in same-store sales of 3.5% and 10.4%, respectively.
 
“We delivered holiday same store sales growth ahead of our guidance as we continued to implement year two of our Path to Brilliance transformation,” commented Signet Jewelers CEO Virginia C. Drosos in a release. “Product newness, investments in our digital capabilities, and more targeted marketing campaigns drove both eCommerce and brick and mortar growth in North America.”
 
In light of its results, Signet has raised its guidance for fiscal 2020 and now expects to see an increase of up to 0.1% in same-store sales, leading to total annual sales of around $6.1 billion. Signet’s previous full-year guidance had predicted a decrease of between 1.7% and 1.0% in same-store sales and total sales in the range of $6.01 billion to $6.05 billion.
 
Annual diluted earnings per share (EPS) are now predicted to be in the range of $1.70 to $1.86.
 
In the fourth quarter, the company has increased its guidance for same-store sales to a 1.1% rise, with net sales now expected to total $2.12 billion. The retailer’s previously reported Q4 guidance expected same-store sales to fall between 4.0% and 2.0%, while net sales were predicted to be between $2.03 billion and $2.07 billion.
 
Quarterly diluted EPS are now expected to be between $3.42 and $3.56.
 
Shares in Signet rose 13.4% in premarket trade on Thursday following the announcement of its holiday results.