Urban Outfitters Profit Rises, Helped by Sales Gains
August 16 2016 - 5:40PM
Dow Jones News
Urban Outfitters Inc.'s profit and margins improved in the
second quarter on higher sales and fewer markdowns.
Shares, which have risen more than one-third this year, rose 8%
to $33.79 in after-hours trading.
The Philadelphia-based retailer, whose brands include
Anthropologie and Free People in addition to the eponymous chain,
had warned in June, when it filed its regulatory report for the
first quarter, that comparable sales were down in the mid
single-digit range during the second quarter.
On Tuesday, it reported instead that comparable sales rose 1%
from the year-ago period, driven by a 5% increase at the Urban
Outfitters brand. Comparable sales were flat at Free People and
fell 3% at the Anthropologie Group, which includes BHLDN and
Terrain and is its largest brand by sales. Analysts surveyed by
FactSet had projected a 1.1% decline in comparable sales.
Urban Outfitters defines comparable retail sales, a key
performance metric for retailers, as online sales and sales at
stores open for at least a year.
Over all, for the period ended July 31, Urban Outfitters
reported a profit of $76.9 million, or 66 cents a share, compared
with $66.8 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest
results are based on 9% fewer shares outstanding.
Sales rose 2.7% to $890.6 million.
Vetri Family restaurants, which the retailer bought this year,
added $3.6 million to revenue.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected 56 cents a
share on $886.8 million in sales.
Gross profit margin, the percentage of sales the retailer makes
after accounting for production costs, improved to 38.5% from 36.7%
a year earlier.
Urban Outfitters, which opened its first store in 1970 near the
University of Pennsylvania campus, has expanded into a
multinational clothing company with more than $3 billion in annual
sales. The retailer's annual profit has declined in the last two
years.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 16, 2016 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024