Bath & Body Works(US:BBWI)2023-02-23 14:14Financial Outlook for 2023 - The company anticipates sales to be flat to down mid-single digits for the full year 2023[4] - Gross margin rate is expected to be approximately 42% for the full year 2023[4] - SG&A expense rate is projected to be approximately 26% for the full year 2023[4] - Free cash flow is estimated to be between $600 million and $700 million for the full year 2023[4] - Earnings from continuing operations per diluted share are projected to be between $2.50 and $3.00 for the full year 2023[4] Store Count and Square Footage - Bath & Body Works U S store count increased by 42 to 1,693 in 2022, with selling square footage increasing by 5% to 4,712,000 square feet[13] - Bath & Body Works Canada store count increased by 5 to 109 in 2022, with selling square footage increasing by 10% to 297,000 square feet[14] - The company forecasts to increase U S store count to be between 1,733 and 1,743 in 2023, an increase of 2% to 3%[18] - The company forecasts to increase U S selling square footage to be between 4,908,000 and 4,930,000 square feet in 2023, an increase of 4% to 5%[19] Expenses - Full-year 2022 selling expenses were $1,205 million, representing 15.9% of net sales[8] - Full-year 2022 home office & marketing expenses were $674 million, representing 8.9% of net sales[8]