Bath & Body Works Q4 sales and earnings decline

Bath & Body Works, Inc. reported net sales of 2.889 billion dollars for the fourth quarter, a decrease of 5 percent.

The company’s earnings per diluted share reached 1.86 dollars for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 2.27 dollars for the same period of the prior year.

Fourth quarter operating income was 652.7 million dollars compared to 879.2 million dollars last year, and net income was 428.2 million dollars compared to 592.6 million dollars last year.

Commenting on the trading update, Gina Boswell, CEO of Bath & Body Works, said: “Our customer base responded well to our holiday season, in part powered by our loyalty program, which now exceeds 33 million members. In addition, we continued to be disciplined in our expense and inventory management. I am very optimistic about our future and our ability to profitably grow our business and deliver long-term shareholder value.”

For the full year, net sales decreased 4 percent to 7.560 billion dollars, while earnings per diluted share were 3.40 dollars compared to 3.94 dollars in 2021.

Full-year operating income was 1.376 billion dollars compared to 2.009 billion dollars last year, and net income was 794 million dollars compared to 1.075 billion dollars last year.

The company expects first quarter net sales to decline low to mid-single digits compared to 1.450 billion dollars in 2022. First quarter earnings per diluted share are expected to be between 17 cents and 27 cents compared to 64 cents earnings per diluted share in the first quarter of 2022.

For fiscal 2023, the company is forecasting flat net sales to a mid-single digit decline compared to 7.560 billion dollars in 2022. Full-year earnings per diluted share is expected to be between 2.50 dollars and 3 dollars compared to 3.40 dollars in 2022.