Shares of Tiffany & Co. gained Thursday after the jewelry and luxury goods retailer raised its first-quarter outlook based on strong performance so far this year.
The company now expects to make more than the profit of 39 cents per share it posted a year ago. Previously, it expected earnings comparable with year-ago results, and analysts polled by Thomson Financial also predicted flat growth.
While luxury retailers are buffered somewhat from economic trends, Tiffany has acknowledged a sales slowdown in the U.S. due to a weaker environment. Consumers are cutting back, particularly on big-ticket items, as they face weak housing and credit markets and rising food and gas prices.
When it reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings in March, Tiffany said it remained "cautious" about the U.S. environment in 2008 but expected robust growth elsewhere in the world.
Banc of America Securities analyst Dana E. Cohen reiterated her "Neutral" rating Thursday.
"While we are encouraged by the news today, we maintain our cautious stance on the high end particularly as other luxury players are promoting aggressively and are likely to take share of wallet," Cohen wrote in a client note.
However, investors were cheered by the news.
Shares rose $3.03, or 6.6 percent, to $48.88. The stock has traded between $32.84 and $57.34 during the past 52 weeks.
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