NurPhoto / Getty Images
Abercrombie & Fitch reported first-quarter earnings per diluted share of $1.47, beating analyst expectations and sending ANF stock up in premarket trading on Wednesday. The consensus analyst estimate had been $1.27 per share, per Yahoo Finance.
Net sales rose 2% from a year earlier to $1.1 billion, marking the company's 14th consecutive quarter of sales growth, the company said. Wall Street had been looking for $1.12 billion in quarterly revenue, meaning the result came in just below expectations, per Markets Financial Content. Profitability narrowed on a year-over-year basis, with the operating margin slipping to 8% from 9.3% twelve months prior.
Growth varied by region. Sales in the Americas rose 3% to $899.9 million, while Asia-Pacific sales jumped 24% to $46.5 million. Revenue in the EMEA region fell 10% to $167.4 million. The company said this drop was due to weaker consumer sentiment from the ongoing Middle East conflict, which especially affected the Hollister brand.
"In EMEA, demand softened as the Middle East conflict ramped up, particularly impacting Hollister Brands, and we are proactively managing inventory and marketing to support the region," CEO Fran Horowitz said in a statement.
