Lululemon earnings: Revenue jumps 88% amid bricks and mortar rebound

Lululemon sales surged 88 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 to $1.2 billion as bricks and mortar stores reopened, prompting the athletic apparel company to raise its financial outlook for the year.

The Vancouver-based company, which reported earnings after markets closed on Thursday, said net sales hit $1.2 billion in the first quarter, up from $651 million during the same time last year. Lululemon also reported a net income of $145 million, or $1.11 per diluted share, compared to $29 million last year, or 22 cents per diluted share.

"Our first quarter results reflected strength across all drivers of growth, fuelled by the continued expansion in our e-commerce business and a rebound in brick and mortar stores," chief executive Calvin McDonald said in a statement released after markets closed on Thursday.

"Our strong performance across categories, channels and geographies demonstrates the momentum and strength of Lululemon as we shift into the new normal."

Lululemon said traffic to its bricks and mortar stores increased significantly in the first quarter of the year, with 93 per cent of the company's retail stores open by the end of the three month period.

The company also saw growth in both its women's and men's categories. Sales of women's products increased 23 per cent when compared to 2019 sales, and men's sales jumped 27 per cent compared to 2019.

McDonald expects that momentum to continue, even as economies reopen and customers begin to resume normal routines. He said sales growth has continued, even as consumers shift their daily habits.

"We have not seen a meaningful shift in our activewear categories through the first quarter," McDonald said.

"The big piece of our business and sales are in athletic activewear. I think with that, it has embedded strength to not be purely trend driven or fashion driven... Overall growth is across almost every category and is very balanced across geographies."

The stronger-than-expected results pushed Lululemon to raise its sales targets for the full fiscal year. The company now expects net revenue to be between $5.83 billion and $5.91 billion in 2021, up from its prior range of $5.55 billion to $5.65 billion. Lululemon also expects adjusted earnings to be between $6.73 and $6.86 per share, compared to a prior range of $6.30 to $6.45.

The projections surpass what analysts had anticipated. According to IBES data from Refinitiv, analysts had expected net revenue of $5.68 billion and earnings of $6.48 per share.

With files from Reuters

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

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