Pandora Set to Meet 2019 Sales Forecast

RAPAPORT... Pandora's shares rose 12% after the company released preliminary results indicating it would meet its sales outlook for the year.The Danish jeweler expects same-store sales - at branches open for at least a year - to have fallen 4% in the fourth quarter of 2019 and 8% for the full year, it said Monday. The figures are in line with the forecast the company issued at the beginning of the year, despite a November update warning the 2019 drop could be higher.Pandora expects total sales to have decreased 1% for the October-to-December period, while revenue for the year slid 8%, it estimated. InNovember, the company forecast a 7% to 9% decline for the year. The full-year earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin, excluding restructuring costs, will be at the upper end of the predicted 26% to 27% range."The sequential improvement in like-for-like [sales] confirms the strategic direction and the effectiveness of Programme Now to bring Pandora back to sustainable growth," the jeweler said.Same-store sales for 2020 are expected to remain negative, while the EBIT margin is expected to fall.Pandora will report its full 2019 sales results on February 4.Image: A Pandora store in the Netherlands. (ThomasGTC)