Tiffany forecasts surprise decline in full-year profit

Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co forecast a surprise decline in full-year profit and reported an unexpected fall in second-quarter sales as a strong dollar discouraged tourist spending in the United States and reduced the value of overseas sales. The company's shares fell 5.3 percent in premarket trading on Thursday.
Tiffany said it expects net earnings to fall 2-5 percent in the year ending January, compared with its earlier forecast of "minimal growth". "The adverse effects from the strong dollar have been even more significant than initially expected, Chief Executive Frederic Cumenal said in a statement. New York-based Tiffany, which gets about half of its sales from outside the Americas, has said currency fluctuations have reduced sales by 2-7 percent in the past three quarters.