Reporting fourth quarter 2014 results before markets opened today, Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP—NYSE) beat EPS expectations by 19 cents, with earnings of $1.72 per share. In response, shares spiked 11.9 percent in premarket trading, according to The Street. The Orlando, Florida-based direct seller posted a profit of $82.3 million, down 8 percent versus prior year, but excluding the impact of foreign currency rates on the comparison, profit was up 6 percent versus 2013.
Though down 5 percent in constant dollars compared to the previous year, net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 27, 2014, were $679.9 million, up 6 percent in local currency, due in large part to emerging markets, which were up 10 percent in local currency and accounted for 64 percent of the company’s fourth quarter sales.
Rick Goings, Chairman and CEO, said, “While there continue to be challenging external forces, this quarter’s results demonstrated we can and will continue to navigate through the environments we find ourselves in, with our strong global management team using our growth levers: innovative and demonstrable premium products; an entertaining selling situation and direct-to-consumer fundamentals driven through the relationships of our 2.9 million sales force worldwide.”
Guidance for first quarter 2015 shows an EPS in the range of 98 cents to $1.03 with earnings for the full year in the range of $4.90 to $5.00 per share. Both are below Wall Street expectations, which are $1.11 for the quarter and $5.20 for FY15, according to the Capital IQ Consensus.
