Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) shares surged in pre-market trading after it raised its full-year sales forecast, citing strong results over Thanksgiving week and progress on its strategic growth plan.
The athletic retailer now expects a full-year comparable sales decline of 8.5% to 9%, compared with a previous forecast for a decrease of as much as 10%.
It also tightened its guidance for full-year EPS to $1.30-1.40 from $1.30-1.50 before.
The company said in the three months ended October 28, sales decreased by 8.6%, to $1.99 billion from $2.17 billion the year prior with net income dropping to $28 million from $96 million before.
Gross margin declined by 470 basis points compared to last year, driven by higher markdowns as well as occupancy deleverage and higher shrink.
Mary Dillon, president and chief executive said, "We delivered third quarter results that were ahead of our expectations as strong execution and early progress against our Lace Up plan improved conversion trends across channels.”
“Looking forward, we are updating our outlook to reflect the momentum we have in our strategic initiatives into the fourth quarter, which includes strong results over the Thanksgiving week period, against the backdrop of ongoing consumer uncertainty.”
Dillion said the company expects to end the year with inventory levels flat to down slightly, as compared with the prior year.
Shares in Foot Locker jumped 8.7% to $25.91 in pre-market trading.