Coach hits 17% increase in Q3 sales

New York based Coach Inc. a marketer of American accessories,

reported sales of $1.11 billion (Rs 5,924 crores) for its third fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared with $951 million (Rs 5,075 crores) reported in the same period of the prior year, an increase of 17%. Coach’s net income for the quarter totaled $225 million (Rs 1,200 crores), with earnings per diluted share of $0.77 (Rs 41). This is, compared to a net income of $186 million (Rs 992 crores) and earnings per diluted share of $0.62 (Rs 33) in the prior year's third quarter, an increase of 21% and 24% respectively.

Lew Frankfort, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coach Inc., said, "We're pleased with the very strong top and bottom-line performance we achieved in the third quarter as well as the expansion of our operating margin.” The board of directors of Coach has voted to increase its cash dividend by 33%, raising it to an annual rate of $1.20 (Rs 64) per share starting with the dividend to be paid to stockholders in July 2012. Frankfort added “the announcement of a 33% increase in our dividend reflects our financial strength and our confidence in Coach's business outlook."

The company also announced that during the third fiscal quarter, it repurchased and retired 2.33 million shares of its common stock at an average cost of $73.92 (Rs 3,945) per share, spending a total of $172 million (Rs 917 crores). At the end of the period, approximately $430 million (Rs 2,294 crores) remained under the company's previous repurchase authorization. For the nine months ended March 31, 2012, net sales were $3.61 billion (Rs19,266 crores), up 15% from the $3.13 billion (Rs 16,704 crores) reported in the first nine months of fiscal 2011. Net income totaled $787 million (Rs 4,200 crores)  up 16% from the $678 million (Rs 3,618 crores) reported a year ago, while earnings per share rose 19% to $2.67 (Rs 142) from $2.24 (Rs 119).

Third fiscal quarter sales results in each of Coach's direct-to-consumer sales, which now include Singapore and Taiwan, increased 18% to $984 million (Rs 5,251 crores) from $837 million (Rs 4,467 crores) last year. North American comparable store sales for the quarter rose 6.7%. In China, while sales growth continued strong, up nearly 60%, sales in Japan rose 10%.

Indirect sales increased 10% to $125 million (Rs 667 crores) in the third quarter from the $114 million (Rs 608 crores) reported in the prior year. International sales at POS were strong for the quarter while sales in U.S. department stores were modestly below last year's levels. Coach, with headquarters in New York, is a leading American marketer of fine accessories and gifts for women and men.

As of March 31, 2012, the company had 350 retail stores and 162 factory stores in North America. In China, five new locations were opened during the quarter, all on the mainland, bringing the total to 85. In Japan, Coach had a total of 184 locations at the end of the quarter. In Singapore the company operated 6 locations and 26 in Taiwan.