Monday, January 16, 2012

Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) Closes 2.73% Higher

Shares of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) jumped more than 3% in today's trading. The stock reached a high of $89.26 in trading, and closed 2.73% higher at $88.12. Volume was up from daily average of 1.01 million to 5.58 million.

Earlier today, Polo Ralph Lauren reported its fourth quarter and fiscal 2010 results. The company reported fourth-quarter net income of $114 million, or $1.13 per share, up from $45 million, or $0.44 per share reported in the fourth quarter of previous year. For fiscal 2010, the company reported net income of $480 million, or $4.73 per share, up from $406 million, or $4.01 per share reported in fiscal 2009. Revenue increased 9% to $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter. For the full fiscal year, revenue fell 1% to $5 billion. The decline has been mainly due to lower global wholesale shipment volumes. In the fourth quarter the company opened three directly operated freestanding stores, while it closed two directly operated freestanding stores. It also took over 16 freestanding stores and 75 concession shop locations in Asia.

Commenting on the results, Ralph Lauren, the company's chairman and CEO, said that in fiscal 2010, the company saw tremendous growth????????? and progress. Lauren said that the successful takeover Asian operations, development of accessories products and opening of several luxury stores were the highlights of fiscal 2010. With more than $1.2 billion in cash and investments on its balance sheet, the company is planning to accelerate investments in growth initiatives during fiscal 2011.

But where will this growth come from? The U.S. market is only just recovering. Consumer spending, the backbone of the U.S. economy, is seeing a rebound. But, it is still way below the pre-crisis levels. Europe is even worse. With all the troubles that the continent has been growing through, it looks like a recovery is a long way off. This leaves the company with just the Asian markets. In fiscal 2010, the company took contro! l of the Asian operations and this gives a signal that it is ready to focus more on these markets. This is a step in the right direction.

The stock has seen a lot of price fluctuations in the past year. It has a 52-week range of $48.07-$95.59. The stock has a beta of 1.60. Currently, the stock is trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

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