Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI) stock traded higher 2.3% in early dealings on Friday, as the company revised its forecast for the year following a robust performance in the second quarter.
A bigger dividend of 8 cents for the third quarter from the second quarter’s 6 cents and HSBC's (NYSE:HSBC) higher target of $34 for the stock, a 19% upside, were also contributing to the bump in the stock price.
The company now expects its adjusted diluted earnings per share for the full year to come between $1.29 and $1.33. This is higher than the $1.12 EPS the company clocked for the year ended November 24, 2019, a pre-pandemic time.
The company expects a sharp rebound in the business in the second half, given that compared to 2019, its two major markets, Europe and Asia, were still reporting revenue lower than the 2019 levels. Americas, its biggest market, was the exception as it grew from both 2020 and 2019 levels.
The company swung to a profit in the three months ended May 30. Adjusted net income was $93 million compared to $192 million loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
Revenue more than doubled to $1.27 billion from $498 million in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted diluted earnings per share came at 23 cents.
An Investing.com poll of analysts had expected the denimwear maker to report EPS of 9 cents on revenue of $1.21 billion.