American Eagle Outfitters Inc.(NYSE:AEO) saw its shares fly higher after the company released its fourth quarter results and provided an upbeat outlook that pleased the market.
In a statement, the company said in the quarter, net income rose to US$94.0mln or 52 US cents a share, from the US$54.6mln or 30 US cents a share, posted a year ago.
READ: American Eagle Outfitters flying high after revenues and earnings top expectations - PRE-MARKET
Excluding non-recurring items, including from the US tax reform, adjusted earnings per share stood at 44 US cents, in line with the market’s expectations.
In the quarter, revenue grew to US$1.23bn from US$1.10bn, coming in slightly above Wall Street’s projection for US$1.21bn.
Same-store sales grew by 8%, beating analysts’ expectations for a 7.2% rise.
However, gross margin rate fell to 34.6%, reflecting higher promotional activity.
The company is guiding first-quarter same-store sales to rise in the mid-single digit percentage range, against market expectations for a growth of 3.2%.
American Eagle also hiked its quarterly dividend by 10% to 13.75 US cents a share.
In premarket trade, its shares were up 1.60% at US$20.57.