LONDON (Alliance News) - Diamond jewellery retailer Signet Jewelers Ltd said Tuesday it saw sales growth in line with its guidance in its third quarter, and reiterated its commitment to "maintaining profitable growth" whilst balancing investment and shareholder returns.
The company, which is dual-listed in London and New York, said its sales in the 13 weeks to end-October rose 3.3% to USD1.22 billion from USD1.18 billion compared to the 13 weeks to November 1, 2014. It said that same store sales also were up 3.3%, driven by branded bridal sales across all store banners and higher sales in its Kay Jewelers brand.
e-Commerce sales were up 13% to USD50.5 million from USD44.8 million.
The company guided for same store sales of 3.5% to 5.0% in its fourth quarter.
"We are pleased to report strong sales growth in line with our third quarter guidance. We also delivered excellent earnings growth, although earnings were affected by a modest margin impact due to a sales mix shift from Jared to Kay," said Chief Executive Officer Mark Light in a statement.
"We are currently experiencing an encouraging start to November particularly at Jared and Zales. The implementation of store operations initiatives in the third quarter combined with significant investment in our recently launched innovative merchandising and marketing programs have positioned Signet for a strong fourth quarter," Light added.
Shares in Signet Jewelers were down 4.7% at 8,861.00 pence at the close Tuesday.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
