RH jumps as 'exceptional' demand for new collections offsets weak Q4 results

Investing.com -- RH posted Wednesday fourth-quarter results that fell short of Wall Street estimates, as adverse weather and shipping delays weighed on performance during the quarter, though the home furnishing company noted "exceptional" demand for its new catalogue of products.

RH (NYSE:RH) was up close to 9% in premarket trading Thursday.

The company reported earnings of $0.72 on revenue of $738 million, missing analyst estimates of $1.69 and $778M.

Revenue was hurt by a $40 million hit in the fourth quarter due to "the severe January weather and shipping delays related to the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea," the company said.

The company, which specializes in furnishings and fittings for luxury homes, bemoaned the fact that luxury home sales had fallen a "dramatic" 45% in the last quarter from the previous year's levels, as more and more buyers bumped up against affordability constraints.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2024, the company is forecasting demand growth of 12% to 14% and revenue growth of 8% to 10%. For Q1, demand growth was seen in the positive mid-single digits and revenues in the negative low-single digits.

Still, the company touted optimism, saying initial demand for its new luxury outdoor furniture RH Outdoor Sourcebook, which arrived in homes late February through mid-March with 14 new collections, "has been exceptional," and is expected to lead to "significant" market share in fiscal 2024.

Despite missing Wall Street’s expectations on top and bottom lines, positive demand trends in Q1 “should be good enough for RH shares to head higher in the current environment where investors are chasing the expected recovery in housing demand,” Citi analysts said in today’s note. 

“The long-term growth story remains intact,” they added.

(Yasin Ebrahim contributed reporting)