Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE:ANF) shares crumpled after the retailer’s fiscal first-quarter same-store sales fell short of expectations.
Same-store sales increased 1% year over year, while Refinitiv IBES had predicted 1.3% growth. Revenue was flattish at $734 million, beating expectations of $733.2 million, while its $0.29 per share loss narrowed from $0.62 last year and beat Street estimates of a $0.44 per share loss. The company posted an operating loss of $27.3 million.
Its stock tumbled almost 23% to $19.10 at midday.
READ: Abercrombie & Fitch shares rise as the teen retailer posts 4Q sales and earnings beats
The Ohio-based company announced plans to close three of its flagship locations, including its SoHo store in New York, which would mark five such closures since 2017.
Looking ahead, the teen clothing retailer expects net sales between $842.4 million to $859.2 million, while analysts are calling for $866.7 million. For the fiscal year, it expects revenue between $3.67 billion and $3.73 billion, compared to Street expectations of $3.68 billion.
"We achieved our seventh consecutive quarter of positive comparable sales fueled by ongoing strength at Hollister and a return to positive comps at Abercrombie,” CEO Fran Horowitz said. “This contributed to topline growth, operating margin improvement and a net loss reduction compared to last year."
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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