Canadian sportswear retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc. has felt the renewed worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic in recent weeks. In the run-up to a digital investor conference, the yogawear specialist from Vancouver published correspondingly adjusted forecasts for the fourth quarter on Monday.
Accordingly, the company now expects that sales and earnings will only be “at the lower end” of the target corridors published in December. The reason given was the already noticeable effects of the Omikron variant of the coronavirus on business.
The forecast range for revenue for the current quarter is from $ 2.125 billion to $ 2.165 billion. Earnings per share are between 3.24 and 3.31 US dollars, and adjusted for one-off effects, 3.25 to 3.32 US dollars are targeted.
“We’re closing a strong one in the coming weeks [Geschäftsjahr 2021/22] and we are delighted with the results that Lululemon has delivered over the course of the year, ”said CEO Calvin McDonald in a statement. At the same time, he admitted that the shops have recently been increasingly burdened by the consequences of the pandemic: “We started the Christmas season from a strong position, but have since experienced various effects of the Omikron variant, including tighter capacity restrictions, lower staff availability and reduced operating times at certain times Locations, ”explained McDonald.