Tarrant Apparel Lowers Profit Estimate

Tarrant Apparel Group, a Los Angeles-based clothier that supplies specialty and mass merchandise stores, lowered its earnings estimate for the year and revised downward its expected annual sales by 13%, to $415 million.

The revisions are a result of an $80-million reduction in sales to Limited Inc., the company said. Those sales were down, Tarrant said, because Limited has taken advantage of depressed currencies by placing more orders in Asia, where Tarrant does not have operations.

Tarrant also said sales for the second quarter, to be released Aug. 12, will be off, primarily as a result of Limited shifting $12 million worth of orders from the second to the third quarter. In the first quarter, Limited accounted for about 45% of Tarrant’s sales, the company said.

Earnings per share for the second quarter are expected to be between 30 cents and 33 cents; Wall Street consensus estimates compiled by First Call Corp. had anticipated 54 cents. Earnings for the year are now expected to be $1.70 per share; the consensus was $1.99.

Tarrant’s stock closed up 31 cents to $20.06 on Nasdaq, more than 58% off its April high of $48.63. News of the downward revision was released after the market’s close.