Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s (ANF) fiscal fourth-quarter profit
jumped 95%, topping expectations, as the teen retailer reported
sharply higher international and direct-to-consumer revenue.
Sales at the high-priced teen-apparel retailer began to recover
in 2010 from poor year-earlier results, partly driven by
international sales. In the fourth quarter, sales abroad rose 61%,
while domestic sales increased 16%.
Abercrombie has also been gaining market share since it lowered
prices, but the company reported a worse-than-expected same-store
sales decline in January. Abercrombie reported monthly sales
figures for the last time this month, joining other retailers that
have ended the practice, supposedly to remove volatility from
investors' decisions.
For the quarter ended Jan. 29, Abercrombie & Fitch posted a
profit of $92.6 million, or $1.03 share, up from $47.5 million, or
53 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding store asset impairment
and other charges, adjusted earnings were $1.38 a share, up from 91
cents.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently predicted
per-share earnings of $1.32.
Gross margin edged up to 63.6% from 63.5%.
The company said earlier this month that net sales jumped 23% to
$1.15 billion, following last year's 4.6% drop. Same-store sales
rose 13%, while direct-to-consumer revenue, which includes Internet
and catalog sales, increased 43%.
Shares closed Monday at $53.41 and were inactive premarket. The
stock has gained 52% over the past year but slipped 7%
year-to-date.
-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com;