Signet, the operator of chain jewelry stores including Kay Jewelers, said Tuesday its third-quarter earnings were $17 million, down from $25 million a year ago.
The company said it had net income of 20 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 30 cents per share.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 19 cents per share.
Signet’s total sales were $1.18 billion, down $30.2 million or 2.5 percent compared to $1.21 million a year ago.
The company said the sales declines were due to under-performance in select stores and declines in select collections such as Charmed Memories and watches, among other things. Sales were partially offset by better performance in fashion jewelry and select bridal, the company said.
In a news release, Mark Light, chief executive officer of Signet Jewelers said, “We expected challenging market conditions to result in a sales decline. However, our continuing ability to execute in a difficult environment led to results that were somewhat better than our expectations.
“Signet achieved some important wins during the quarter. Fashion diamond and gold jewelry performed well as did select branded bridal. We saw success in a variety of selling channels including kiosks, outlets, and on-line. In addition, our teams delivered solid expense and inventory management leading to strong free cash generation. The Zales integration is running well and synergies remain on target.
“While near term headwinds may persist, we are confident that we made the right investments into initiatives designed to drive growth and deliver on our fourth quarter expectations.”
For the current quarter ending in January, Signet expects its per-share earnings to range from $4 to $4.20.
The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $7.38 to $7.58 per share.
Signet shares have declined 28 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has decreased 36 percent in the last 12 months.
Shares closed up 2.1 percent at $90.79 on Tuesday after trading higher earlier in the day.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.