Starbucks Sales in China Contribute to Earnings Rise

Starbucks Sales in China Contribute to Earnings Rise

cheap louis vuitton sale The Starbucks Corporation, the ubiquitous coffee company, grew strongly in the quarter that ended April 1, propelled by more traffic in its stores and big increases in sales of its products through channels like grocery and warehouse stores. Earnings increased 18 percent to $309.9 million, or 40 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with $261.6 million, or 34 cents a share in the quarter a year earlier. The results were in line with analysts’ expectations.  Revenues rose 14.7 percent to $3.2 billion from $2.8 billion in the second quarter of last year. Same-store sales increased 7 percent. “I could not be more excited or more optimistic about the future of our company as we pursue disciplined, profitable growth all around the world,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, chief executive and president of Starbucks.

cheap louis vuitton sneakers sale Starbucks sales in China, where it realizes its highest profit margins, grew more than 20 percent for the seventh consecutive quarter, and the company said it planned to accelerate store opening there. “China is going gangbusters,” said Troy Alstead, Starbucks chief financial officer, in a brief interview. Sales through channels other than its stores jumped 57 percent in the quarter, driven by its Starbucks- and Tazo-branded K Cup packs, the single serving cups used in Keurig brewing systems. Mr. Alstead said that when sales of its Via single-serve coffee product were added to K Cup sales, Starbucks controlled about 20 percent of the premium single serve coffee market. He said he expected the company’s share of market to grow when it began selling K Cups in its own stores later this year and with the introduction of the Verisimo System, the high-pressure brewing system Starbucks will sell in time for the holidays.

cheap louis vuitton pumps sale The system will make espresso and brewed coffee. The company will continue to feel the impact of higher coffee prices through the rest of its fiscal year, Mr. Alstead said. Higher coffee prices over the last two years have increased the company’s costs by about $500 million, which has been offset by strong revenue growth and tight expense control. The company has already locked in its prices for the next year and a half, Mr. Alstead said. “We’re past the peak of the spike now, and while it’s still high in the third and fourth quarter, it gets smaller,” he said. “We see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its investment-grade rating on Spain by two notches, citing mounting risks from a contracting economy but separately affirmed Ireland's investment grade status after the latest review of its bailout program.

cheap louis vuitton belts sale The move on Spain by S&P is another warning of the still fragile outlook for the euro zone as steep austerity measures being undertaken by heavily indebted countries are blamed by some for pushing the region back into recession and threatening the prospects of smaller nations like Ireland of returning to the public funding market. S&P lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on Spain to triple-B-plus, three notches into investment grade, from A. The outlook is negative, reflecting the significant external and domestic risks to Spain's economic growth and budgetary performance. The firm said it now expects Spain's economy to contract, citing declining disposable incomes, private-sector deleveraging, implementation of the government's front-loaded fiscal consolidation and an uncertain outlook for external demand in many of Spain's key trading partners as negative drags.

cheap louis vuitton handbags sale It also warned of an increasing likelihood that the government will need to provide further fiscal support to the banking sector. A Spanish government spokeswoman said senior officials are expected to comment after the government's weekly cabinet meeting on Friday. In January, S&P cut Spain's credit rating by two notches as part of a slew of downgrades of euro-zone countries. S&P expects Spain's gross domestic product to contract by 1.5% in 2012 and 0.5% for 2013. It previously forecast GDP growth of 0.3% for 2012 and 1% for 2013. Because of higher-than-previously-expected deficit projections and other debt-increasing items, S&P sees net general government debt at 76.6% of GDP in 2014, against its prior estimate of 64.6% of GDP. On its review of Ireland, S&P kept the government at triple-B-plus, three rungs above junk territory but still maintained a negative outlook. On Thursday the troika of bailout lenders to Ireland--European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank--said the country's economic recovery is on broadly on track.