Brylane Stock Drops As Catalog Disappoints
Cataloger Brylane, New York, saw its stock price fall 27 percent last week after announcing that its Lerner catalog didn't perform as well as expected. The company announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 1998 showing its net income was up more than $1 million, to $12.4 million, over last year. A spokeswoman for Brylane said the company is positive about the changes it is making to the Lerner catalog. She also said analysts estimate that Lerner represents 18 percent of Brylane's business. Brylane's earnings per share also rose 19.6 percent, to 67 cents per share compared to 56 cents per share for the second quarter of fiscal 1997. Operating income showed an increase as well, going up 14.1 percent, to $27.5 million vs. $24.1 million last year. The company's results for the six months ended Aug. 1, showed an increase in net income of 9.8 percent, to $25.7 million compared to $23.4 million for the same period last year, while earnings per share rose 19 percent, to $1.38 per share compared to $1.16 per share last year. “We see several opportunities in the marketplace that we plan to pursue in order to enhance future growth,” chairman/CEO Peter Canzone said in a prepared statement. “Two of our newest initiatives include the introduction of Gramercy Home and the launch of several of our catalogs to the European marketplace, as well as introduce the La Redoute book to the U.S. in 1999.”
