Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) shares were a must-have accessory in pre-market trading as the handbags seller topped expectations with its results.
Second quarter net income of US$5.7mln was down from US$7.6mln in the same quarter of 2014, but earnings per share (EPS) of 15 cents (2014: 19 cents) were ahead of market forecasts of 11 cents.
Revenue from continuing operations rose to US$120.7mln from US$119mln a year earlier, ahead of expectations of sales of US$115mln.
Direct sales rose 7.7% from a year earlier to US$83.8mln but the bricks-and-mortar side of the business saw sales decline 10.3% to U$$36.9mln.
Like-for-like sales, including online sales, fell 15.0%.
Nevertheless, shares were up by one-fifth in pre-market trading after chief executive officer Robert Wallstrom said the company remains confident of the success of its long-term strategic plan.
For the current quarter, the accessories firm said it expects revenue of between US$120mln to US$123mln, which even at the bottom of the range is ahead of current market forecasts of US$117.2mln.
EPS guidance for the current quarter has been upped to a range of 19-21 cents, versus market expectations of 15 cents.
The company expects full-year EPS will fall between 72 and 78 cents on revenue of between US$487mln to US$495mln.