Reuters
Mar 14, 2010
AnnTaylor posts surprise quarterly profit
Reuters
Mar 14, 2010
NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - Women's clothing retailer AnnTaylor Stores Corp (ANN.N) reported a surprise quarterly profit on Friday 12 March, helped by tight inventory management and improved merchandise.
Ann Taylor |
The retailer, which operates its namesake Ann Taylor chain and the more casual, less expensive LOFT stores, said net income was $41 million, or nil per share, compared to a loss of $375.6 million, or $6.66 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding restructuring charges, the company earned 5 cents per share. Analysts, on average, were expecting a loss of 1 cent per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net sales fell about 3 percent to $469.1 million. Same-store sales fell 0.6 percent, as a 2.1 percent increase at LOFT stores helped mitigate a 7.3 percent decline at Ann Taylor.
For the current first quarter, AnnTaylor expects total net sales of $445 million, above analysts' average estimate of $443.7 million.
For the full year, AnnTaylor expects total sales in 2010 to rise, helped by a return to same-store sales growth at both of its chains. It expects total store square footage to decline 3 percent this year, as it plans to close about 72 stores and open 30.
AnnTaylor shares were down 39 cents to $19.06 in premarket trade. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Derek Caney)
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