Lands’ End Reports Boost in Profit During Holidays

Lands’ End Inc. on Thursday said profit rose in the two-month holiday season, suggesting it may beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates and sending shares up 19%.

Sales, however, dropped a “disappointing” 15% from a year earlier to $352 million, as the company worked to cut costs by trimming holiday catalog pages by 25% and mailing two catalogs during the season instead of three.

Lands’ End’s shares on Thursday rose $5.63 to close at $34.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Net income rose to $33.4 million, or $1.08 a share, in the eight weeks ended Dec. 24, compared with profit from operations of $32.1 million, or $1.06, a year ago. The partial quarterly results exceed the 98-cent average estimate of analysts polled by First Call/Thompson Financial for Lands’ End’s 12-week quarter ending Jan. 28.

“The earnings for the holiday sales period were surprisingly good given the sales numbers,” said Bernard Sosnick, a Fahnestock & Co. analyst who raised his rating on the stock to “buy” from “hold” Thursday.

The company will report fourth-quarter results March 9.

Holiday catalog sales fell in the company’s principal business segment--men’s, women’s and children’s clothing--but Internet sales doubled from a year earlier.