Lands’ End Says Profit Won’t Match Last Year’s

Catalog retailer Lands’ End Inc. said earnings for the fiscal year ending Jan. 26 will fall short of year-ago profit as holiday results were crimped by costly snowstorms and a large backlog of orders. Analysts polled by First Call had expected $1.33, on average, for the current fiscal year. Lands’ End earned $1.52 a share in the previous year. The company said it still expects substantial improvement in sales and earnings for the fourth quarter and positive sales growth for the full year, but it warned that gross profit margin improvement would trail expectations. The apparel retailer reported net sales of $394 million for the eight weeks ended Dec. 22, up 12% from the year-earlier holiday period. Holiday sales on the company’s Internet site rose almost 50% from the year before. Lands’ End shares rose $1.45 to close at $27.10 on the NYSE.