Shares of Signet Jewelers Ltd. shot up 4.2% in premarket trading toward the highest price seen during regular-sessions hours since January 2017, after the diamond jewelry retailer swung to a fiscal second-quarter profit that was more than double what was expected, as revenue also beat forecasts, and raised its full-year outlook. Net income for the quarter to July 31 was $216.0 million, or $3.60 a share, after a loss of $90.0 million, or $1.73 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $3.57, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.70. Sales grew 101.4% to $1.79 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.65 billion, as same-store sales jumped 97.4% to beat expectations of a 79.2% rise. For fiscal 2022, the company raised its EPS guidance range to $6.80 to $6.95 from $6.50 to $6.65 and its same-store sales growth outlook to 30% to 33% from 24% to 27%. Signet also expanded its share repurchase program to $225 million. The stock has soared 29.9% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.5%.
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