Limited Brands, operator of Victoria’s Secret, says 2nd-qtr net income jumped, raises outlook

Limited Brands 2Q net income jumps

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Limited Brands Inc.’s net income rose sharply in the second quarter as more Americans shopped at its mall stores — Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works — and it recorded several one-time gains.

The company, based in Columbus, Ohio, also raised its full-year outlook.

Limited Brands reported late Wednesday that it earned $178.7 million, or 54 cents per share, for the quarter that ended July 31. That’s up from $74.3 million, or 23 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Adjusting for several one-time items in the period — a bond-related loss plus gains for selling shares of Express clothing chain and selling its remaining interest in Limited Stores — the company earned 36 cents per share.

That beat the 34 cents per share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected. And it’s nearly double last year’s adjusted earnings of 19 cents per share.

Total revenue rose nearly 9 percent to $2.2 billion, which it previously announced, meeting analyst expectations.

As at many mall-based chains, Limited Brands’ shoppers cut back during the recession and have now begun to loosen their purse strings.

And Limited Brands has improved its profitability by moving away from clothing toward more profitable beauty products and lingerie. In addition to Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, the company operates Canadian lingerie chain La Senza.

Limited Brands completed that transition in June when sold its remaining 25 percent stake in namesake Limited Stores LLC to the chain’s majority owner for $32 million.

Limited Brands expects to earn $1.68 to $1.83 per share for its full fiscal year, in line with Wall Street’s $1.81 expectation and up from its previous guidance of $1.60 to $1.80.

Shares of the company rose 23 cents to $26.01 in after-hours trading.