Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) Tops Q4 EPS by 20c, Offers Guidance

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) reported Q4 EPS of $1.35, $0.20 better than the analyst estimate of $1.15. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.2 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion.

• Comparable sales increased 3% on top of 9% last year.

For fiscal 2019, the company expects:

• Net sales to be up in the range of 2% to 4%, driven by positive comparable sales and net new store contribution, partially offset by an adverse impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates of approximately $15 million primarily in the first quarter of fiscal 2019
• Comparable sales to be up low-single digits
• Gross profit rate to be up slightly from the fiscal 2018 rate of 60.2%
• Operating expense, excluding other operating income, to be up approximately 2% from fiscal 2018 adjusted non-GAAP operating expense of $2.03 billion
• The effective tax rate to be in the mid-to-upper 20s
• A weighted average diluted share count of approximately 69 million shares, excluding the effect of future share buybacks
• Capital investments of approximately $200 million
• To deliver approximately 85 new store experiences through new store prototypes, remodeled stores and right-sizes
• Up to 40 store closures, primarily in the U.S.

This outlook excludes impacts from the adoption of the new lease accounting standards.

Fiscal 2019 First Quarter Outlook

For the first quarter of fiscal 2019, the company expects:

• Net sales to be flat to last year
• - Changes in foreign currency exchange rates to adversely impact net sales by approximately $15 million
• Comparable sales to be in the range of flat to up 2%
• Gross profit rate to be flat to up slightly from the fiscal 2018 rate of 60.5%
• Operating expense, excluding other operating income, to be approximately flat to fiscal 2018 adjusted non-GAAP operating expense of $481.5 million
• The effective tax rate to be in the mid-20s

This outlook excludes impacts from the adoption of the new lease accounting standards.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) click here.

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