Shares of American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) are down $1.48, over 9%, at $13.90, accelerating its loss in pre-market trading, after the company this morning narrowly beat fiscal Q1 revenue expectations and met on the bottom line, but missed Q2 estimates substantially.
Q1 revenue rose 8% to $659.5 million, just ahead of the $656 million consensus, yielding profit per share of 17 cents, excluding some costs, as expected.
For this quarter, the company sees EPS of 12 cents to 16 cents, which is well below the 21-cent average estimate.
Gross profit in Q1 rose 15% to 39.7% of sales from 37% a year earlier, excluding results from the Martin+OSA unit, which American Eagle is closing.
The less-than-expected forecast for Q2 reflects, “margin pressure related to weaker business trends early in the quarter,” the company said, without elaborating.
During a conference call with analysts, CFO Joan Hilson remarked that, “With improvements in the areas of production and allocation, we have reduced our inventory for the 2nd half of the year.”
“A more balanced price and unit strategy,” said Hilson, “will allow us to recapture margin and our expense initiatives will enable us to drive leverage and strengthen profitability.”
No comments:
Post a Comment