Abercrombie & Fitch net sales almost flat at $864 mn in Q3

Both Hollister and Abercrombie delivered positive US comparable sales, resulting in a total company US comparable sales of positive 3 per cent against positive 6 per cent last year. This was offset by international comparable sales of negative 8 per cent against negative 3 per cent last year.

Gross profit rate of 60.1 per cent, was down 120 basis points on a reported basis and down 80 basis points on a constant currency basis as compared to last year. The net income was $0.10 per diluted share as compared to $0.35 last year on a reported basis.

“We achieved another quarter of constant currency revenue growth and positive US comps across brands, while maintaining tight expense management. Continued US momentum was offset by challenges across several of our key international markets as well as a complicated global operating environment, which weighed on overall results. Despite these challenges, we ended the quarter with a balanced inventory position and have seen good response to our new assortments as weather has turned more seasonal, giving us confidence in our product and messaging for the important holiday period, said Fran Horowitz, chief executive officer.

“While we are focused on the upcoming holiday season, we also continue to make progress against our long-term transformation initiatives including: delivering 34 new store experiences, keeping us on track for our goal of 85 for the year; continuing the global rollout of omni capabilities and new payment options, and building our customer and product-facing teams in the EMEA and APAC regions. These transformation initiatives, along with accelerating top line growth, are essential to achieving our 2020 profitability target.”

For fiscal 2019, the company expects net sales to be in the range of flat to up 1 per cent and comparable sales to be in the range of flat to up 1 per cent, against positive comparable sales of 3 per cent last year.

The gross profit rate is expected to be down approximately 100 basis points from the fiscal 2018 rate of 60.2 per cent.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, the company expects net sales to be in the range of flat to up 2 per cent, reflecting an adverse impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates of approximately $5 million; comparable sales to be in the range of flat to up 2 per cent, against positive comparable sales of 3 per cent last year.

The gross profit rate is expected to be down approximately 150 basis points as compared to fiscal 2018 rate of 59.1 per cent.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co is a leading, global specialty retailer of apparel and accessories for men, women and kids through three renowned brands.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)