Monday, June 18, 2012

Body Central (Nasdaq: BODY) plunges after cutting forecasts

Body Central (Nasdaq: BODY) plunges after cutting forecastsNorthern, WI 6/18/12 (StreetBeat) – Clothing-store chain Body Central Corp. (Nasdaq: BODY) is cutting its second-quarter and full-year earnings andrevenue forecasts, citing soft sales since April. The company's stock lost nearly half its value.

Shares of the women's clothing and accessories company, whose brands include Body Shop and its namesake, tumbled $7.42, or 46.4 percent, to $8.57 in morning trading on Monday. The stock fell to a fresh 52-week low of $8.20 earlier in the session.

Body Central now expects earnings of 19 cents to 21 cents per share on revenue of $77 million to $79 million. Its prior guidance called for earnings of 26 cents to 28 cents per share on revenue of $80 million to $82 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet had predicted earnings of 27 cents per share on revenue of $82 million.

Revenue at stores open at least a year is expected to drop 7 percent to 9 percent. Body Central's previous forecast was for a 5 percent to 7 percent decline.

This figure is a key indicator of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

For the full year, the Jacksonville, Fla. company now foresees earnings of $1.07 to $1.11 per share on revenue in a range of $323 million to $328 million. Body Central previously predicted earnings of $1.34 to $1.38 per share on revenue of $333 million to $337 million.

Wall Street expects earnings of $1.35 per share on revenue of $335.4 million.

The company now anticipates that revenue at stores open at least a year will fall 4 percent to 6 percent for the fiscal year. Its prior outlook was for a 1 percent to 3 percent decline.

Last month Body Central said that its sales were soft in April. On Monday President and CEO Allen Weinstein said in a statement that sales at stores open at least a year have not improved since then.

Weinstein said the weak sales are anticipated to continue into the third quarter and improve in the fourth quarter as new fall and holiday merchandise makes its way into stores.

Body Central had 254 specialty clothing stores in 23 states as of Friday.

Please contact www.thestreetbeat.com for interest in our latest investor relations platform the “CEO Interview Series” with its host Steve Kanaval. The package includes a one-on-one interview with a seasoned industry professional; published segment to our web site with embedded audio/video file; and a compressed file that can be easily e-mailed out to your current and/or potential investors. Please e-mail bflautt@gmail.com or call (662) 392-0740 for pricing and scheduling.

StreetBeat Disclaimer

Distributed by Viestly

No comments:

Post a Comment