Kate Spade (KATE) reported earnings Tue 1 March 2016 (b/o)

** charts before earnings **

** charts after earnings **

Kate Spade reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides FY16 below consensus; partners with Reliance Industries in India :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) adj. earnings of $0.32 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.32; revenues rose 7.8% year/year to $429 mln vs the $440.37 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Q4 direct-to-consumer comparable sales growth was 14%, or 9% excluding eCommerce. Comparable sales per square foot for kate spade new york stores were $1,588 for the latest twelve months, compared to $1,504 for the twelve month period ended October 3, 2015.
  • Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 60.3%, excluding the impact of wind-down operations.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $0.70-0.80, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.82 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $1.385-1.41 bln vs. $1.44 bln Capital IQ Consensus; DTC comps sales low to mid teen growth. 
• Kate Spade & Company (NYSE: KATE) and Reliance Brands Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Group, a renowned retail partner-of-choice in India, today announced plans to the bring the kate spade new york brand to India through a long-term distribution and retail license agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Reliance Brands Limited will have the exclusive distribution rights to the kate spade new york brand in the country.