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Williams-Sonoma beats 2Q
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August 24, 2001: 8:45 a.m. ET
Earnings slide on higher sales but top forecast; company warns on 3Q
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. posted sharply lower fiscal second-quarter earnings Friday but topped Wall Street expectations as the company logged higher sales at its Williams-Sonoma, Outlet and Pottery Barn stores
The company also warned that third-quarter results likely will fall short of estimates and said it anticipates full-year profit at the low end of expectations.
For the quarter ended July 29, San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma earned $1.4 million, or 2 cents a share, down from $5.1 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected a break-even quarter, according to earnings tracker First Call.
Revenue grew 17.1 percent to $429 million from $366.5 million.
The company said it now anticipates third-quarter earnings between 5 cents and 7 cents a share, below analysts' forecasts of 10 cents a share, according to First Call. Revenue is expected to be $478 million and $492 million..
Williams-Sonoma also expects full-year earnings of $1.17 to $1.24 a share compared with expectations of $1.20 a share. It sees full-year revenue of about $2.1 billion.
Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge known as same-store sales, increased 1 percent in the second quarter versus a 7 percent increase a year earlier.
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The company posted lower gross margins in the quarter due mainly to higher expenses.
Williams-Sonoma (WSM: Research, Estimates) shares slid $2.30 to finish at $28.60 Thursday. 
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Williams-Sonoma
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