Children’s Place Inc.’s stock
PLCE,
was down by 12.6% in premarket trading on Thursday after the retailer warned it will miss Wall Street’s fourth-quarter earnings estimate. Children’s Place reported third-quarter net income of $38.5 million, or $3.05 a share, down from $42.9 million, or $3.26 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted profit of $3.22 a share fell short of the FactSet consensus estimate of $3.49 a share. Third-quarter sales fell by 5.7% to $480.2 million, above the analyst estimate of $465.7 million. Children’s Place said contributing factors were higher distribution and labor costs, and pressured consumers. Looking ahead, Children’s Place said it expects fourth-quarter sales of $460 million to $465 million, above the analyst estimate of $436.5 million, and adjusted profit of 25 cents to 45 cents a share, well below the analyst estimate of $1.39 a share. While the company said its Back to School business was strong, its bottom line was impacted by increased expenses as well as its core customer that “remains under significant pressure.”
