Shares of Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) reached a record high US$65.20 this morning.
The New York shoes and sportswear distributor, beat market expectations for the first fiscal quarter of 2015 reporting net income of US$184 million or US$1.29 per share, against a consensus of US$1.22 and a level of US$1.10 a year earlier.
Revenues totaled US$1.92 billion, in line with expectations, higher than US$1.87 million for the comparable period last year. Excluding the impact of currency effects, total sales increased by nearly 8% year over year said the company in a statement.
Foot Locker achieved its most profitable quarter in its history with gross margins reaching 35%, against 34.6% a year before:
"We are focused on executing the updated strategic priorities that we described in our investor meeting in March, and the results in the first quarter demonstrate that we remain on the right track, with strong performances across our channels, geographies, banners, and categories. Our core business improved and we made progress on each of our growth pillars, a team accomplishment of which we are all very proud," said Foot Locker’s CEO, Richard Johnson.
During the first three months of the year, Foot Locker opened 37 new stores and closed 41. The company operates 3,419 stores in 23 countries in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The company also has 55 franchised Foot Locker stores in the Middle East and South Korea.