Shares in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) slipped lower early on Wednesday morning after the world’s largest diamond jewellery retailer posted a disappointing set of results for the holiday season.
Same store sales for the nine week holiday period – a key time for all retailers – ended 31 December fell 4.6% compared to the same period last year.
The Zales and Kay owner blamed technical issues with the website for its Sterling Jewelers business as one of the key reasons for the drop-off in sales.
The weaker-than-expected performance means Signet has revised its earnings per share forecast for the fourth quarter to between US$4 and US$4.05, at the bottom end of prior guidance of US$4 to US$4.20.
“Signet’s in-store results were in-line with the jewellery market, but technical performance issues in Sterling’s e-commerce platform largely led to Signet’s lower-than-expected results,” said chief executive Mark Light.
“Sterling’s challenges in its e-commerce platform were due to recent enhancements that did not perform as expected when exposed to high holiday volume.”
Light added that the group was directing more resources to improve the functioning of the platform and the overall online customer experience.
Shares were down US$4.05, or 5%, to US$84.03.