Ralph Lauren Shares Rise on Higher 2Q Results, Same Revenue Outlook

By Dave Sebastian

Shares of Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) rose 11%, to $112, after it reported higher second-quarter results and maintained its full-year revenue guidance for fiscal 2020 as it faces business disruptions in Hong Kong and the impact of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

For the fiscal year, the fashion company expects revenue to grow 2% to 3% on a constant-currency basis, though it sees the growth being on the range's low end amid protests in Hong Kong. It sees foreign-currency fluctuations to weigh on revenue growth by about 1.3 percentage points.

The company said it continues to see operating margin to increase 0.4 to 0.6 percentage points in constant currency. The guidance includes the impact of List 4 U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, and foreign currency is expected to weigh on operating margin by about 0.2 percentage points, Ralph Lauren said.

For the third quarter, the company said it expects revenue to be flat compared with the year-earlier period, and for foreign currency to pressure revenue growth by about 0.7 to 0.9 percentage points.

Third-quarter operating margin could be flat to down about 0.2 percentage points, the company said, and foreign currency is expected to have little impact on operating margin during the quarter.

Ralph Lauren backed its 2020 tax-rate guidance of about 22%, and it sees third-quarter tax rate of about 21%.

Write to Dave Sebastian at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 07, 2019 10:12 ET (15:12 GMT)

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