Tiffany profit sags as Louis Vuitton merger looms

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Tiffany & Co., the high-end American retailer planning to sell itself to the French owner of Louis Vuitton, reported disappointing third-quarter results, sending shares lower ahead of the opening bell.

The luxury retailer earned profit of $78 million, down 17 percent from a year ago. Net earnings were 65 cents a share, missing the 84 cents that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were anticipating. Revenue was flat versus a year ago at $1.01 billion, missing the $1.04 billion that was expected. Comparable sales were unchanged year-over-year.

“Our underlying business remains healthy with sales attributed to local customers on a global basis growing in the third quarter, led by strong double-digit growth in the Chinese mainland,” CEO Alessandro Bogliolo said in a statement.

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Net sales in the U.S. fell 4 percent to $423 million amid lower spending by tourists, and to a lesser extent, locals. Tiffany didn't break out specific numbers for mainland China or Hong Kong, which saw "significant disruptions" from the pro-democracy protests that have roiled the region since March.

Last month, luxury group LVMH reached a deal to buy Tiffany for $16.2 billion, or $135 a share, in cash. The deal is expected to close in the middle of 2020, after receiving approval from Tiffany shareholders and regulators.

The company will not hold a third-quarter earnings call because of its pending merger with LVMH.

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Tiffany shares have climbed 66.1 percent this year while the S&P 500 has risen 24.2 percent