Net Income at Guess Soars 76% on Higher Sales

Guess Inc., the jeans maker whose designer clothing has been modeled by actress Drew Barrymore and socialite Paris Hilton, said Thursday that profit in the third quarter rose 76% as same-store sales grew.

Net income rose to $11.8 million, or 27 cents a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 25 from $6.69 million, or 15 cents, a year earlier, the Los Angeles company said.

Sales climbed 19% to $197.8 million from $166.7 million.

Guess benefited from “strong same-store sales growth in retail stores, better performance in wholesale due to increased international sales and higher income from our licensing business,” said Paul Marciano, co-chairman and co-chief executive.

Guess was expected to earn 24 cents a share, the average estimate of six analysts in a Thomson First Call survey, on sales of $186.6 million.

One of the reasons behind the upbeat report is the company’s ability this year to shorten the time it takes to get new products into stores.

Revenue was driven by increases of 11% in sales for stores open at least one year, 21% in wholesale revenue and 41% in licensing rights.

The company operates 269 retail stores, compared with the 258 stores it operated a year ago in the same period.

Guess retail stores, including those in Canada, generated revenue of $132.1 million in the third quarter, a 15.7% increase from the $114.2 million reported in the same period a year ago.

Guess shares rose as high as $17.60 in after-hours trading. They fell 83 cents to $17.16 in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The stock has gained 42% this year.

Bloomberg News was used in compiling this report.