Jones Apparel Group , the women's clothing and shoemaker, swung to a fourth-quarter loss as a result of charges to reflect the reduced value of trademarks and other assets, as well as the loss of its Polo Jeans business.
The company, whose brands include Jones New York, Gloria Vanderbilt and Nine West, reported a loss of $269.5 million, or $2.51 a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $55.7 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier.
In January, the company forecast a loss of $2.48 a share.
Excluding certain items, earnings would have been 53 cents per share.
Revenue fell about 1% to $1.21 billion, largely due to the loss of the Polo Jeans business. In January 2006, Polo Ralph Lauren
Analysts expected average earnings of 46 cents a share on $1.16 billion in revenue.
For the full year, the net loss was $144.1 million, or a loss of $1.30 a share, down from $274.3 million, or $2.30 per share, for 2005. Revenue for the year was $4.74 billion, down from $5.07 billion.
For 2007, the company forecast a 10% increase in earnings per share from an adjusted 2006 figure of $2.19.