Elizabeth Arden Predicts Sales Below Expectations

NEW YORK (AP) — Cosmetics maker Elizabeth Arden Inc. on Thursday predicted weaker-than-expected revenue in fiscal 2009, hurt by a stronger dollar and weakness in its travel retail business.

The company expects fiscal 2009 earnings between 38 cents and 50 cents per share and sales to decline between 6 percent and 6.5 percent. Based on revenue of $236.3 million last year, that translates to between $222.1 million and $220.9 million.

Elizabeth Arden's forecast excludes expenses and charges for a Liz Claiborne license agreement, and it also excludes expenses for a global efficiency project.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who usually exclude one-time items from their estimates, expect profit of 33 cents per share on sales of $236.7 million.

The company said its outlook is based on unfavorable exchange rates and expectations of weakness in international markets, particularly its higher-margin travel retail and distributor markets, as well as its European business.

Separately, the company posted a smaller fiscal third-quarter loss, but its results were still hurt by unfavorable exchange rates and higher expenses.