Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) surged this morning on much better-than-expected earnings results for the fiscal third quarter.
The specialty retailer of casual apparel posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87 on revenues of $1.17 billion for the quarter. In the same period a year ago, it reported a profit of $0.57 per share on revenue of $1.08 billion. This quarter’s results also compare with the Thomson Reuters estimates for adjusted EPS of $0.59 and $1.11 billion in revenues.
Total U.S. sales were essentially flat at $818.6 million, but total international sales increased 37% to $351.1 million. Total same-store sales for the quarter decreased 3% relative to last year.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mike Jeffries said:
These significantly improved financial results reflect progress on several fronts over the past quarter. Our US chain store business posted healthy growth on top of a strong quarter a year ago, and we saw sequential trend improvement in our international business.
The company said it bought back 3.0 million shares during the third quarter. In addition, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.175 per share.
Abercrombie now expects full-year EPS to fall in a range of $2.85 to $3.00, assuming a mid single digit percentage decrease in same-store sales for the fourth quarter. The Thomson Reuters forecast calls for $2.48 per share earnings on revenue of $4.39 billion for the full fiscal year.
Shares jumped about 25% in premarket trading to $38.99. The 52-week range is $28.64 to $54.10. Before this morning’s report, the mean price target was $37.76.
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