Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) shares are skyrocketing Friday.
The dieting company released its third-quarter earnings, which came in at 53 cents per share, topping the year-ago quarter by 15 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of 45 cents per share.
Revenue also increased year-over-year by 2.7%, tallyng up to $280.8 million, falling slightly below the consensus estimate of $285.5 million to $290.3 million. Weight Watchers’ subscribers rose 10.1% to 2.83 million year-over-year thanks to the company’s ability to add subscribers in North America.
The company has been in search of a new CEO since the abrupt departure of James Chambers, which comes about a year after Weight Watchers bet on a new eating plan that was backed by Oprah Winfrey, which did not gain as much steam as the company had hoped.
The search for the new boss has been in motion, said Chief Financial Officer Nick Hotchkin. He said the candidates they are looking at come from a variety of backgrounds
The company said that it has major plans to use Ms. Winfrey as we approach the New Year’s resolution diet season. New marketing is in store, plus Oprah’s new cookbook is on the horizon, slated for a January release.
For its full fiscal year 2016, Weight Watchers expect earnings to be in the range of 95 cents per share to $1.05 per share, which tops the previous guidance of 90 cents per share to $1.05 per share.
WTW shares grew 9.5% Friday.
