Lululemon beats expectations in first quarter with net revenue of US$650M

VANCOUVER – Lululemon Athletica Inc. says it earned net revenue of $839 million (US$650 million) in the first quarter to beat analyst expectations.

Revenue in the quarter ending April 29 was a 25 per cent increase from the same quarter last year, and above the roughly $800 million (US$617.7 million) expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

The company says net income came in at $97.3 million (US$75.2 million) for the quarter, up from $40.5 million (US$31.3 million) for the same quarter last year and higher than the $79.4 million (US$61.3 million) expected by analysts.

The Vancouver-based clothing retailer says comparable store sales increased eight per cent while direct to consumer net revenue, which largely comes from the company’s website sales, increased 62 per cent compared with a year earlier.

Retail analyst Neil Saunders says in a note that the company had a “stellar quarter,” although the improved numbers do compare to a fairly soft performance last year.

He says the results are especially impressive as competition in the yoga clothing market increases from specialist players like Gap’s Athleta, sports suppliers like Adidas, as well as smaller niche companies.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly referred to $839 million in profit instead of revenue.