GPS Gap Inc

By Josh Beckerman 

Gap Inc. said it saw a strong customer response at its Old Navy chain last month, but its namesake brand posted lower comparable sales.

Over all, Gap's total same-store sales fell 3% in September. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected a 2.9% decline in total comparable sales.

Total sales fell 2% to $1.43 billion.

Gap said a late-August fire at its Fishkill, N.Y., distribution center had a negative effect of about 3 percentage points in September. The fire is expected to hurt total comparable sales by a similar amount in October.

Comparable sales rose 4% at Old Navy, while declining 10% at Gap Global and 9% at Banana Republic Global.

Gap shares rose 6% to $24.15 in after-hours trading.

The company said September margins "actualized significantly higher than previously forecasted," which more than offset the negative effects from lost sales and logistics costs related to the fire.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 06, 2016 17:29 ET (21:29 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.