Tiffany Updates FY18 Outlook; Authorizes $1 Bln Share Buyback - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Tiffany & Co. (TIF) announced, based on the strong and better-than-expected first-quarter results, management revised upward its outlook for the full year ending January 31, 2019. In addition, the Board of Directors approved a new $1 billion share repurchase program.

Management's guidance for fiscal 2018 includes: worldwide net sales increasing by a high-single-digit percentage over the prior year both as reported and on a constant-exchange-rate basis; and net earnings increasing to a range of $4.50 - $4.70 per diluted share. The company targets mid-to-high-single-digit comparable sales growth for the full year.

In the first quarter: net earnings increased 53% to $142 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, from last year's $93 million, or $0.74 per diluted share. Worldwide net sales increased 15% to $1.0 billion, resulting from broad-based sales growth; comparable sales increased 10%. On a constant-exchange-rate basis, worldwide net sales and comparable sales rose 11% and 7%, respectively, for the quarter.

The company's new share repurchase program, which expires on January 31, 2022, will replace its existing share repurchase program announced in January 2016. Under the new program, the company's Board also approved the repurchase of $250 million of its common stock through an accelerated share repurchase transaction which the company expects to enter into during its fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2018.