USA: Polo Ralph Lauren Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2000 Earnings per Share

Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation(RL)Fourth Quarter Earnings Per Share Increased 19% to $0.32. Full Year EPS Increased 16% to $1.45.Fourth Quarter Operating Income Increased 21%. Full Year Operating Income Grew 22%. Fourth Quarter and Full Year Gross Margin Grew to 48.7%.Inventory Levels Lower by 12%. Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) reported today that its fourth quarter fiscal 2000 net income grew to $31.8 million, representing earnings of $0.32 cents per diluted share, a gain of 19% over pro forma diluted earnings per share of $0.27 for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1999. The results reflect strong operating performance in Polo's wholesale and licensing businesses, and improvement in Polo's full line retail stores. The pro forma results for the quarter ended April 3, 1999 include the results of Club Monaco, which was acquired in the first quarter of fiscal 2000. All results presented herein exclude the impact of the fiscal year 1999 restructuring. The following table presents the results for the quarters.