Tiffany Profit Takes Hit as Holiday Sales Fall

NEW YORK -- Tiffany(TIF Quote) warned Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit would be pulled down by its lackluster holiday same-store sales performance and the luxury jeweler cut its full-year earnings forecast again.

Tiffany reported same-store sales for the November through December period slid 24% primarily on softness at its domestic stores. The results exclude the conversion of foreign currency sales into U.S. dollars.

"The holiday season represents the largest portion of fourth-quarter sales, so we do not expect any improvement for the quarter that will end on January 31st. Based on that, net earnings will decline in the fourth quarter," Chairman and CEO Michael Kowalski said in a statement. ...