Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) stock rallies 15.01% (As on April 4, 11:35:15 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company raised its annual profit forecast, citing the apparel maker’s recent cost savings from job cuts and less aggressive discounts on its jeans and denim clothing. In a bid to cut costs, Levi’s has reduced its global corporate workforce, including trimming the number of senior leadership positions. It has also consolidated its operations in Europe and exited lower-margin businesses, such as its Denizen brand and European footwear enterprise. The apparel retailer recorded a restructuring charge of $116 million in the first quarter. Levi’s also reported a loss of $10.6 million, or 3 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with a profit of $114.7 million, or 29 cents, a year earlier.

Moreover, in the three months ended Feb. 25, direct-to-consumer sales made up a record 48% of overall sales at Levi’s, up from 42% in the year-ago period and 25% higher on a two-year basis. During the quarter, global wholesale revenues were down 9% compared to the prior year when adjusted for the shift in wholesale orders that happened in the year-ago period. That weakness was driven by Europe, which Gass said saw a “tough” quarter. Meantime, Levi’s has also been in the process of transforming itself into a retailer that does a lot more than just sell jeans. It’s working to offer more skirts, dresses and tops, and wants to be viewed as a denim lifestyle business, not just a blue jeans company.

LEVI in the first quarter of 2024 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 26 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 21 cents. The company had reported 7.8 percent decline in the adjusted revenue growth of $1.56 billion in the first quarter of 2024, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.55 billion. The sales slump was primarily attributed to a shift in Levi’s wholesale orders, which boosted profits by about $100 million in the year-ago period.

The denim maker said it expects an adjusted profit between $1.17 and $1.27 per share for 2024, up from its prior expectations of $1.15 to $1.25. Analysts’ expected a profit of $1.21 per share. Levi’s still expects full-year sales to rise between 1% and 3% as it contends with a slowdown in discretionary spending and an uncertain economy. Analysts had expected sales to grow 2.4% on a full-year basis.