Shares of Lands’ End Inc. LE rose 1.3% in premarket trading Thursday, after the casual clothing and accessories company swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss as promotional activity weighed on margins, but provided and upbeat outlook. The net loss for the quarter to Jan. 27 was $3.3 million, or 10 cents a share, after net income of $7.1 million, or 21 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 4.6% to $529.6 million. The one analyst surveyed by FactSet expected a breakeven quarter on revenue of $515.0 million. Cost of sales rose while sales fell, up 0.3% to $357.5 million, as gross margin contracted to 32.5% from 35.9%, citing “industry-wide promotional activity and a focused effort to move through less productive units, slightly offset by lower inbound transportation costs.” For the first quarter, the company expects a per-share loss of between 15 cents and 9 cents and revenue between $295 million and $310 million, which compares with the estimates of the one analyst surveyed by FactSet for a per-share loss of 40 cents and revenue of $289.7 million. The stock, which had closed at a 3-year low earlier this week, has lost 9.0% year to date through Wednesday while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 1.4%.
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