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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Athletic apparel maker Lululemon Athletica Inc. on Wednesday posted strong results for its fiscal third-quarter and raised its forecasts for the full year, sending its stock jumping in after-hours trading.
CEO Laurent Potdevin said he's "energized by our momentum" at the start of the key holiday shopping season.
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company known for its yoga wear said it had profit of $58.9 million, or 43 cents per share, in the three-month period that ended Oct. 29. That was down from $68.3 million, or 50 cents a share a year ago.
Earlier this year, the company announced it was shuttering most of its Ivivva brand stores. Adjusted to exclude costs related to the closures and other non-recurring items, its earnings were 56 cents per share in the latest quarter.
That topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 52 cents per share.
The company posted revenue of $619 million in the period, up 14 percent from the $544.4 million a year ago. That also surpassed Street forecasts. Eleven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $611.5 million.
Lululemon raised its forecasts for its profit and revenue for its fiscal year ending in January. It now expects adjusted earnings of $2.45 to $2.48 a share, up from a prior forecast of $2.35 to $2.42 a share. Revenue is expected in a range between $2.59 billion and $2.61 billion, up from $2.55 billion to $2.56 billion.
It also announced a $200 million stock buy-back program.
Its stock was up $4.34, or 6.4 percent, to $72 in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LULU at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LULU
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