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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 93660.html
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.'s fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 47% as the high-end apparel designer's revenue grew more than expected.
Shares of the apparel company leaped more than 20% in Tuesday morning trading, to $40.80. The company went public in December at $20 a share.
Michael Kors forecast current-quarter earnings of 10 cents to 12 cents a share on revenue between $350 million and $355 million . The company expects full-year earnings of 74 cents to 76 cents a share on revenue of $1.27 billion to $1.28 billion.
A 30-year-old brand, Michael Kors sells clothing, footwear and other apparel and accessories through luxury department stores, such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Harrods, and through its own company-operated outlets. The company is looking to expand its shop-in-shop branded areas in department stores and to increase global same-store sales.
Michael Kors's same-store sales didn't suffer through the economic downturn, but the company has warned that a prolonged period of depressed consumer spending could affect its financial condition.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Michael Kors reported a profit of $32 million, or 20 cents a share, up from $21.8 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier. Excluding items such as stock-based compensation, initial public offering fees and a tax benefit, earnings were 28 cents in the most-recent quarter. Revenue jumped 68% to $373.6 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 8 cents on revenue of $349 million.
Gross margin rose to 59.4% from 57%.
Same-store sales rose 38% in North America and were up 34.4% in Europe.