Christopher & Banks Company Earnings Surprise to the High Side

For the quarter, same-store sales rose 23.4% compared with the first quarter of 2012.

The company’s outlook for the second quarter calls for a same-store sales increase of 8% to 10%, compared with a same-store sales gain of 8.9% in the second quarter of 2012. Christopher & Banks also expects gross margins to improve by 4.5% to 5.5%. The consensus estimates for the quarter call for an EPS loss of $0.01 on revenues of $104.38 million.

For the full 2013 fiscal year, the company expects the store count to fall by about 8%, and it expects to have $10 million to $10.5 million in capital expenditures, which will include the opening of five new outlet stores and the conversion of six existing stores to outlets. For the full year, the consensus EPS estimate is $0.09 on an estimated $446.95 million in revenues.

The company’s CEO said:

[O]ur marketing programs have garnered a highly favorable response and created excitement in our stores. As we continue to gain traction with our strategic initiatives, we believe we are well-positioned to drive sustainable long term growth and profitability.

Christopher & Banks has been a real success story this year, with the share price up nearly 700% in the past 12 months. But that has only brought the stock back to where it was in the fall of 2010.

Shares are up nearly 7% in premarket trading, at $7.30 in a 52-week range of $1.01 to $7.92. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $8.25 before today’s results were announced.