Lululemon revenue up 10% on strong online sales

Lululemon Athletica Inc. says its first quarter revenue was up more than expected and it's raising the bar for its 2015 full-year results.

The Vancouver-based clothing company known for its yoga-inspired fashions had $423.5 million US of revenue during the three-month period, up 10 per cent from $384.6 million US in last year's first quarter.

That was above analyst estimates of $418.9 million US, which was in line with the top end of the company's guidance.

Lululemon's profit was $47.8 million or 34 cents per share — one cent above an average estimate compiled by Thomson Reuters. Its profit for the three months ended May 3 was up from $19 million or 13 cents per share a year earlier.

Growing online presence

Lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin said the company's e-commerce business is accelerating.

During the first quarter of 2015 ended May 3, Lululemon's direct-to-consumer revenue from electronic commerce increased 27 per cent $83.6 million — or nearly one-fifth of the total.

Lululemon — which reports in U.S. dollars — says it now expects revenue for all of 2015 will be in a range of between $2 billion and $2.05 billion, which is about $30 million higher than estimates released in March.

"To support our long term goals, we are intentionally striking a strategic balance between strong growth and investments within innovation and infrastructure," Potdevin said in a statement.