Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands posts larger-than-expected profit as retailer sells more full-price items

Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings and sales that topped analysts’ estimates, driven by momentum across its business and more people paying full price for its products.

Its stock was recently down more than 1% in extended trading.

Here’s how the company did for the quarter ended May 1, compared with what analysts were anticipating, based on a Refinitiv survey:

• Earnings per share: $1.25 adjusted vs. $1.21 expected
• Revenue: $3.02 billion vs. $3.01 billion expected

Net income rose to $276.6 million, or 97 cents per share, compared with a loss of $296.9 million, or $1.07 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges, L Brands earned $1.25 per share, beating the $1.21 that analysts were forecasting.

Total sales surged more than 80% to $3.02 billion from $1.65 billion a year earlier. That topped estimates for $3.01 billion.

Total same-store sales were up 21% year over year, compared with a 4% increase in the year-ago period.

By this fall, L Brands will be spinning off its Victoria’s Secret business into its own publicly traded entity, and said it wouldn’t provide a forecast for the rest of the year.

L Brands has said the split will allow both of its brands to better focus on growth and have greater financial flexibility to adapt to a changing retail landscape. It had been contemplating either a spinoff or a sale, but said the spinoff ended up being the best option for the business to fetch the highest value.

As of Wednesday’s market close, L Brands shares are up about 82% year to date. The company has a market cap of $18.8 billion.

Find the full press release from L Brands here.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.