Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) Reaffirms Q4 Outlook

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) today announced that it is reaffirming its previously issued outlook for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 as follows:

• Driven by the loss of fiscal 2017's 53rd week and adverse impacts from both the calendar shift and changes in foreign currency exchange rates, net sales to decrease mid-single digits
• Comparable sales to be up low-single digits on top of 9% last year
• A gross profit rate flat to up slightly from last year's rate of 58.4%
• GAAP operating expense, excluding other operating income, to be down in the range of 1% – 2% from last year's adjusted non-GAAP operating expense of $561 million

Fran Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“We were pleased with our performance in the competitive holiday season. We remain on track to deliver a low-single digit comp for the fourth quarter, representing our sixth consecutive quarter of positive comparable sales. From a regional perspective, comp trends remain directionally consistent with the third quarter. Hollister continues its momentum with strength across genders. At Abercrombie, weakness in Women’s tops and dresses is driving a projected negative brand comp for the quarter, which the brand's new leadership team is actively addressing.

For the full year, we remain on track to deliver top-line growth including over $1 billion in digital sales, gross profit rate expansion and operating expense leverage. We are excited to continue evolving our brands and transforming our operating model as we move into 2019."

The company plans to release its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter and full year results on March 6, 2019.

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