Chico's FAS Inc. on Tuesday reported a jump in profit for its latest quarter, with the company unburdened of an impairment charge in the same period last year as the retailer logged stronger-than-expected results.

Shares of the company, down 24% for the past 12 months, rose 2.4% to $11.57 after hours.

The apparel retailer also announced that the president of its eponymous brand, Cynthia Murray, was leaving the company and a search was under way for her replacement. Her departure was part of a cost-cutting effort that the company launched in May and now says will save the company between $90 million and $110 million in future annualized costs.

Chico's is one of the few brands that targets older women, which analysts say is an underserved group. In addition to its namesake stores, its brands include White House Black Market and lingerie label Soma.

Last month, the company's brewing battle with Barington Capital Group LP was resolved after the activist investor dropped a bid for board seats and claimed credit for changes at the chain.

Barington, which at the time owned a 1.6% stake in Chico's, made the move after proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis agreed with Chico's that recently appointed Chief Executive Shelley Broader should be given time to drive growth. She started in the role in December.

The company said that in the latest quarter it reduced total corporate and field leadership head count by about 200 positions, or 13%, contributing to about $25 million in pretax, annual savings.

For the period ended July 30, Chico's reported a profit of $23 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with $2.1 million, or 2 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding certain costs, adjusted per-share earnings fell to 25 cents from 26 cents.

Revenue decreased 7.3% to $635.7 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of 22 cents and revenue of $632 million.

Comparable sales fell 3.1%, reflecting reduced average sales and a decline in transactions, the company said. Chico's said it expects a low single-digit decline of comparable sales in the second half of the fiscal year.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 30, 2016 20:55 ET (00:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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