Williams-Sonoma profit climbs - latimes.com Home goods seller Williams-SonomaInc.said Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 8 percent on strong performances from its Pottery Barn and West Elm brands. It offered fiscal 2012 earnings guidance that was slightly below Wall Street's expectations and a revenue forecast that was above analysts' estimates. The company also announced that Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Sharon McCollam has retired. Its shares slipped 84 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $37 in premarket trading. Williams-Sonomareported net income of $122.6 million, or $1.17 per share, for the period ended Jan. 29. That's up from $113.4 million, or $1.05 per share, a year earlier. This beat the $1.13 per share that analysts surveyed by FactSet expected. Williams-Sonomahad cut its fourth-quarter earnings outlook in January because of holiday-season promotions. It also lowered its revenue forecast at that time. Quarterly revenue for the San Francisco company rose 13 percent to $1.27 billion from $1.12 billion as online sales increased 18.1 percent. Wall Street expected revenue of $1.25 billion. Comparable brand revenue, which includes revenue from stores open at least a year and total direct-to-consumer revenue, climbed 6.6 percent. Direct-to-consumer revenue rose 13.8 percent in the quarter, led by Pottery Barn and West Elm. Retail revenue edged up 1.1 percent, benefiting from the performances of Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm and its international franchise operations. Williams-Sonomasaid McCollam has retired from the company and will retire from its board on March 16. The company appointed Julie Whalen, senior vice president, corporate controller and treasurer, as acting CFO. For the full year, Williams-Sonoma earned $236.9 million, or $2.22 per share. That's up from $200.2 million, or $1.83 per share, in the prior year. Annual revenue increased 6 percent to $3.72 billion from $3.5 billion. Comparable brand revenue rose 7 percent. Williams-Sonoma anticipates fiscal 2012 earnings in a range of $2.37 to $2.47 on revenue between $3.93 billion and $4.02 billion. The company foresees first-quarter earnings between 29 cents and 32 cents per share on revenue of $800 million to $820 million. Analysts predict full-year earnings of $2.48 per share on revenue of $3.91 billion and first-quarter earnings of 33 cents per share on revenue of $804.9 million. Williams-Sonoma has 576 stores.