Tiffany 4Q profit falls as costs offset sales

NEW YORK (AP) ? Tiffany says its fourth-quarter profit fell slightly, as higher costs more than offset an increase in revenue.

But the iconic jewelry company issued a stronger-than-expected outlook for the current year.

Its shares rose 2.2 percent to $70.21 in premarket trading.

For the quarter ended Jan. 31, the New York-based company reported net income of $178.4 million, or $1.39 per share. That's down from $181.2 million, or $1.41 per share, in the same quarter of 2010.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $1.42 per share.

Revenue rose 7.8 percent to $1.19 billion, matching analysts' predictions.

Tiffany & Co. projected a 2012 profit of $3.95 to $4.05 per share on sales growth of about 10 percent. That suggests $4.01 billion in sales.

Analysts expect earnings of $3.93 per share on revenue of $3.91 billion.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-03-20-US-Earns-Tiffany/id-df2b489440724fe5bd7a61b57ce1f138

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