American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said Thursday same-store sales in April rose a better-than-expected 2 percent, and the teen retailer maintained its earnings guidance for the first quarter.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast, on average a decline of 0.6 percent in same-store sales. The metric, which measures sales in stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.
Total sales for the four weeks ended May 3 jumped 15 percent to $197.7 million from $171.9 million.
The latest period benefited from improved store traffic, more seasonal weather and the arrival of the company's new summer collections. Same-store sales in the year-ago period declined 10 percent, American Eagle said.
For the first quarter, same-store sales fell 6 percent, while total sales rose 5 percent to $640.3 million from $612.4 million.
The company reiterated its first-quarter earnings guidance of 18 cents to 20 cents, down from 35 cents per share last year. Analysts expect the company to earn 19 cents per share, on average. The company will report first-quarter earnings on May 28.
American Eagle operates more than 900 stores in North America. In morning trading, the stock declined 36 cents to $18.
Terms & Conditions
RSS Headlines
Fool UK