Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) shares surged 25% in premarket trading Wednesday after reporting first-quarter results that exceeded earnings expectations, despite a slight revenue shortfall.
The retailer posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.59, topping the $1.33 consensus by $0.26. Revenue reached $1.06 billion – just under the $1.08 billion forecast – but still marked an 8% year-over-year increase.
Comparable sales rose 4% from the prior year, bolstered by a standout 22% gain at Hollister, which achieved its strongest Q1 performance ever. This growth was tempered by a 4% decline in sales from the Abercrombie brand.
“We delivered record first quarter net sales with 8% growth to last year. This was above our expectations and was supported by broad-based growth across our three regions,” said CEO Fran Horowitz.
The company also returned value to shareholders by repurchasing 2.6 million shares for $200 million, representing about 5% of its outstanding shares.
For the full year, Abercrombie provided earnings guidance of $9.50 to $10.50 per share, compared to analyst expectations of $10.28. Q2 EPS is projected to fall between $2.10 and $2.30, slightly below the $2.47 consensus.