Limited Brands 1Q earnings almost double

Limited Brands Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter earnings nearly doubled on an asset sale.

The operator of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works said it made $97.8 million, or 28 cents per share, for the quarter ended May 3, compared with a profit of $52.9 million, or 13 cents a share, a year ago. Sales fell 17 percent to $1.9 billion from $2.3 billion.

Limited Brands' statement did not say what the asset sale entailed. Spokeswoman Tammy Roberts Myers said the company would not be more specific about the sale, which generated a pretax gain of $128 million, or 24 cents a share.

Discounting the gain plus a pretax charge of $19 million, or 6 cents a share, Limited Brands made 11 cents a share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected profit of 8 cents a share on revenue of $1.9 billion. Such estimates usually exclude one-time gains.

Limited Brands reported an 8 percent decline in sales at stores opened at least a year _ considered an important indicator of a retailer's health _ during the quarter.

Last year, Limited Brands sold much of Express to affiliates of private equity firm Golden Gate Capital and transferred much of its interest in Limited Stores to affiliates of buyout firm Sun Capital Partners. The moves effectively put Limited Brands out of the apparel business to focus on beauty products and lingerie.

Limited Brands is among several retailers that have reported weak sales.

Last week, J.C. Penney Co.'s first-quarter profit fell by nearly from a year ago, while Kohl's Inc.'s results were down nearly 27 percent and Nordstrom Inc. reported a 24 percent decline. Macy's Inc. posted a $59 million loss for the quarter.

Limited Brands said it expects second-quarter earnings of 16 to 20 cents a share, compared with 20 cents a share last year. It also expects full-year earnings of $1.38 to $1.58, discounting the 18 cent gain in the first quarter.

Wall Street is looking for profit of 18 cents in the second quarter and $1.41 in the year.

The report was released after the stock market closed Wednesday. The shares fell 2.4 percent, or 40 cents to $18.31 in trading Wednesday. They rose to $18.77 in after hours trading. The shares have traded between $14.41 and $29.05 the past year.

Limited Brands operates 2,975 stores under the names Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, Co.O. Bigelow, La Sense, White Barn Candle Co., Henri Bendel and Pink.

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On the Net: http:/http://www.limitedbrands.com