Yesterday, Bath & Body Works announced its Q1 financial report. It reported net sales of $1.38 billion for the first quarter ending May 4, 2024, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.9% compared to the same period last year. Despite this dip in sales, the company saw an improvement in its operating income, which rose to $187 million from $181 million in the previous year. Similarly, net income experienced an uptick, reaching $87 million from last year’s $81 million.
The retailer has adjusted its financial guidance by raising the midpoint for both its revenue and earnings forecasts. Bath & Body Works now anticipates net sales for the fiscal year to range from a decline of 2.5% to flat, relative to the $7.4 billion reported in the last financial year. For the second quarter, it projects net sales to fall between a decrease of 2% and flat, compared to $1.5 billion in the same quarter of 2023.
Notably, the first quarter marked the opening of Bath & Body Works’ inaugural standalone store in London’s Westfield White City, in addition to its existing presence through concessions in Next stores across the UK.
For fiscal 2024, Bath & Body Works narrowed its guidance by raising the midpoint for both the top and bottom lines and is now forecasting net sales to range between a decline of 2.5 percent to flat. Full-year 2024 earnings per diluted share is now expected to be between $3.05 and $3.35.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said: “Unfortunately, despite the fact Bath & Body Works is lapping soft prior-year numbers, future guidance calls for full-year sales to be flat to down by 2.5 percent. This comes off the back of an additional week of trade last year but, even so, it is not an entirely convincing performance. When compared to the projected growth in the categories Bath & Body Works sells, these kind of numbers represent a loss of market share.”
