Lululemon (LULU Get Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) Report shares are set to open at a fresh record high Thursday after the athletic and leisure apparel group blasted second quarter earnings forecasts and boosted its full-year profit outlook.
Vancouver-based Lululemon said it sees full year earnings in the region of $7.38 to $7.48, on sales that could reach $6.26 billion, even as supply chain disruptions add stress to the group's logistics over the second half of the year.
For the quarter ending in July, Lululemon earned a Street-blasting $1.65 pre share as revenues surged 61% from last year's pandemic trough to around $1.45 billion.
Factory closures in Vietnam, port disruptions in Asia and reduced air capacity will add to supply chain pressures and increase costs, Lululemon said, and that is likely to pressure gross margins over the second half of the year.
"Lululemon remains in the early innings of our growth story and I continue to be inspired and excited with the momentum we’re seeing across the business," CEO Calvin McDonald told investors on a conference call late Wednesday. "Results of this caliber enable us to now develop our next five year growth plan and we’ll come back to you next year with an updated view of what the future can hold."
"We are monitoring this closely and leaning into the agility of our supply chain. The strength of our planning and allocations team and the powerful partnerships with our vendors to help mitigate the risks where we can," he added. "Our business was particularly strong in quarter two and our guidance calls for momentum to continue in the back half of the year. But I think it’s fair to say that our business would have been even stronger without these challenges facing the industry."
Lululemon shares were marked 13.7% higher in pre-market trading Thursday to indicate an opening bell price of $433.00 each, an all-time high and a move that would extend its year-to-date gain to around 24.4%.
"Despite a few minor setbacks, Lululemon’s core business continues to drive the most consistent and balance upside in both revenues and gross margins in our coverage," said Credit Suisse analysts Michael Binetti, who boosted his price target on the stock to $465.00 per share, with an outperform rating, following last night's earnings release.
"Updated guidance puts Lululemon on track to achieve its 2023 revenue targets 2 years early, and we see multiple paths to upside continuing in the second half of the year," he added.
