Signet Stock Surges After Reporting Improvement in Holiday Sales

(Bloomberg) -- Signet Jewelers Ltd. surged the most since 1996 on Thursday after raising its outlook for full-year profit and sales on stronger holiday results.

• The jewelry seller now sees comparable sales -- a key retail metric -- growing 0.1% for the current fiscal year, which ends early February. That’s an improvement from the previous forecast for a decline of 1% to 1.7%. Signet also raised its earnings per share estimate for the year. See more details here.

Key Insights

• A number of store chains have posted weaker-than-expected holiday sales, causing share declines at some specialty chains and department stores. Signet’s results, however, powered by healthy growth at its Zales brand, suggest that consumers were still willing to spend.
• The success is relative -- Signet has reported mostly negative comparable sales in recent years and this year they’ll remain stagnant. But the owner of Kay, Piercing Pagoda and other brands seems to have stabilized in recent months as the company brought costs under control and became more disciplined with inventory management.
• Online jewelry retailer James Allen posted holiday comparable sales growth of almost 27% -- a sign that Signet’s online strategy is gaining steam. Piercing Pagoda also remains an important growth area for Signet.

Market Reaction

• Signet shares rose as much as 38% to $29.58 in New York, the highest level in a year. The company has posted annual declines in stock since 2015.

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