Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) shares rose smartly as the sportswear maker ended 2015 strongly.
Earnings in the three months to January rose 6% to US$166mln on sales 17% higher at US$704mln.
Shares rose 9% to US$67.05 even though the group was a little cautious over the next three months. Investors liked the performance of the new men’s and children’s ranges while its efforts to make its womenswear more elaborate also seemed to be paying off.
Lululemon forecast sales in the current quarter of between US$483mln to US$488mln, with same-store income to grow by mid-digits.
Earnings per share will be in a range of 28c to 30c a share.
For the full year sales rose by 15% to US$2.1bn from US$1.8bn, while net earnings dipped slightly to US$369mln from US$376mln.
Laurent Potdevin, chief executive, said: "I'm very pleased with our strong finish to the year with positive momentum across all channels.
"In 2015, we made bold moves across the organization, elevating design and innovation and developing our infrastructure to position us for the future. “