Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) stock rose 9.04% (As on Mar 30, 11:30:45 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted mixed result for the fourth quarter of FY 21. Net revenue increased 21% in North America and increased 35% internationally. Total comparable sales increased 22% during the quarter. Comparable store sales increased 32%. Direct to consumer net revenue increased 17%, or increased 16% on a constant dollar basis. Direct to consumer net revenue represented 49% of total net revenue compared to 52% for the fourth quarter of 2020. Gross profit increased 22% to $1.2 billion, and gross margin decreased 50 basis points to 58.1%. Income from operations increased 29% to $590.6 million. Adjusted income from operations increased 27% to $592.0 million. Operating margin increased 120 basis points to 27.7%. Adjusted operating margin increased 90 basis points to 27.8%. The Company opened 22 net new company-operated stores during the quarter, ending with 574 stores.

LULU in the fourth quarter of FY 21 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $3.37, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $3.27, according to Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 23 percent to $2.13 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 21, missing the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $2.14 billion.

Additionally, during 2021 the Company repurchased 2.2 million shares of its own common stock at an average price of $369.16 per share for a total cost of $812.6 million. As at January 30, 2022 the Company had $187.5 million of authorization remaining on its stock repurchase program. During the first quarter of fiscal 2022, the Company completed the remaining stock repurchases under this program. On March 23, 2022, the board of directors approved a new stock repurchase program for up to $1.0 billion of the Company’s common shares. The Company ended 2021 with $1.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents compared to $1.2 billion at the end of 2020. It had $397.0 million of capacity under its committed revolving credit facility at the end of 2021. Inventories at the end of 2021 increased by 49% to $966.5 million compared to $647.2 million at the end of 2020.

For the first quarter ending in May, Lululemon said it expects revenue in the range of $1.53 billion to $1.55 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $1.42 billion.

The company expects full-year earnings to be $9.15 to $9.35 per share, with revenue ranging from $7.49 billion to $7.62 billion.