L Brands CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer To Retire; Raises Q4 Earnings Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - L Brands, Inc. (LB) said Thursday that Stuart Burgdoerfer has informed the Board of Directors of his desire to retire as CFO of L Brands and Interim CEO of the Victoria's Secret business. L Brands has promoted Martin Waters, currently CEO of Victoria's Secret Lingerie, to CEO of the Victoria's Secret business and will assume those responsibilities effective immediately. Waters will report to Andrew Meslow, CEO of L Brands. Burgdoerfer will remain in his CFO role through August 2021. The company has initiated a search for Burgdoerfer's successor as CFO, which will include both internal and external candidates.

L Brands said its Board and management remain committed to separating the Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works businesses.

The company is currently targeting August 2021 to complete the separation and is evaluating all options, including a spin-off of the Victoria's Secret business into a public company or a private sale of the business. Burgdoerfer will continue to lead this process in his role as L Brands CFO.

Citing its strong January results, L Brands raised its earnings outlook for the fourth quarter to a range of $2.95 to $3.00 per share from the prior range of $2.70 to $2.80 per share. The company expects to report fourth-quarter comparable sales increase of 10 percent, consisting of a 22 percent increase at Bath & Body Works and a 3 percent decrease at Victoria's Secret.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $2.72 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

L Brands will report its fourth-quarter earnings results on February 24.