L Brands (LB) 2021 Q1 Earnings Report

L Brands Inc. (NYSE:LB) humble beginnings can be traced back to 1963 when college dropout Leslie Wexner borrowed $5,000 from his aunt to open a store in Kingsdale shopping center located in Ohio. The company launched and sold several brands over its decades-long journey. It currently operates three brands including Bath & Body Works, Victoria’s Secret, and PINK.

The Ohio-based fashion retailer recently announced better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter. L Brands reported earnings of 97 cents per share for the three months ended May 1, as compared to a loss of $1.07 per share in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.25 per share for the quarter, topping the consensus forecast of $1.17 per share.

Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.02 billion, as compared to $1.66 billion in the same period last year. The revenue matched analysts’ average estimate of $3.02 billion. Comparable sales at Bath & Body Works jumped 16 percent, while comparable sales at Victoria’s Secret climbed 25 percent in the quarter.

CEO Andrew Meslow expressed his satisfaction with the results. Meslow said in a statement, “L Brands delivered record first quarter earnings, driven by continued strength and exceptional performance at Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret. We are pleased that the momentum in both businesses has continued, driven by positive customer responses to our assortments, which allowed us to reduce promotional activity and deliver substantial increases in our merchandise margin rates. We’d like to express our appreciation to our associates and partners who have made these record results possible. Grounded in the strength of the two businesses, we look forward with confidence to the separation of Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret into two industry-leading, publicly traded companies.”

L Brands also issued its earnings outlook for the second quarter. The company projected adjusted earnings in the range of 80 cents per share to $1 per share for the quarter, above analysts’ average estimate of 76 cents per share.

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