Clothing retailer Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) surprised analysts with its first rise in like-for-like sales for more than a year.
Strength at its Old Navy brand helped sales overall rise by 2% in June, sending its shares 7% higher in early trading today though have still shed around a fifth of their value since January.
“We are pleased to see better performance across the portfolio this month, partly driven by an improvement in June traffic trends,” the group said in a statement.
Total sales rose to US$1.57bn from US$1,54bn, but that hid mixed performances from its flagship brands.
Old Navy sales rose by 5% but were offset by a 4% decline at Banana Republic and 1% at the Gap brand itself.
Gap has been retrenching to improve its performance especially overseas and this was the first time sales had risen in a months since March 2015.