Estee Lauder lowers forecast

COSMETICS company Estee Lauder forecast fiscal year earnings below Wall Street’s expectations after turning in a better than expected quarterly profit and its shares fell 6.2%.

Profit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, which ended in June, came in just ahead of analysts’ expectations.

The company forecast fiscal year 2012 earnings of $4 to $4.20 per share, excluding items, while analysts were expecting it to earn $4.37 a share.

That forecast “appears conservative,” said Oppenheimer & Co’s Joseph Altobello.

“While the company continues to execute very well and has made substantial progress on its strategic initiatives, we continue to believe the shares fairly reflect this,” said Altobello, who kept his “perform” rating on the shares.

Fourth-quarter earnings for the maker of Bobbi Brown and MAC Cosmetics were $41.1 million (€28.4m) or 20 cents a share, versus a profit of $23.9m or 12c a share, a year ago.

The results included $12m or 4c per share, in returns and charges associated with restructuring activities.

Excluding such items, earnings per share fell to 25c from 29c a year earlier, and topped analysts’ average forecast of 24c, according to Thomson Reuters.

Net sales rose 12% to $2.06 billion. Sales in the United States, travel retail, and emerging markets were strong.