Ann’s Q3 Profit Rises 33% (ANN)

Ann Inc. (NYSE: ANN), a specialty retailer of women’s apparel, shoes and accessories, on Friday released its third-quarter financial results, posting a 33% increase in profit.

Ann, which owns the Ann Taylor and Loft stores, reported third-quarter earnings of $32.3 million, or $0.61 per share, compared with $24.2 million, or $0.41 per share reported for the same period in the previous year. The company’s revenue for the third quarter jumped 12% on a year-over-year basis to $564 million. Sales at the company’s Ann Taylor stores rose 3% on a year-over-year basis to $229.7 million, while sales at the Loft stores climbed 19% to $334.3 million.

Analysts were expecting the New York City-based retailer to report of $0.57 per share and revenue of $565.3 million in the third quarter.

Ann’s total comparable sales for the third quarter rose 5.5%, with comparable sales at Ann Taylor rising 2.5% and comparable sales at Loft rising 7.9%. E-commerce sales at Ann Taylor  jumped 46%, while at Loft’s jumped 23%.

Kay Krill, President and CEO of Ann, said that the delivered another outstanding quarter, generating its fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth and the ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth. Krill said that look ahead to the balance of the fiscal year, the company is on track to achieve another year of substantial growth in sales and earnings.

For the fourth quarter, Ann expects sales of $580 million, with a mid-single digit increase in revenue at stores open at least a year. Analysts expect the company to report sales of $577 million for the fourth quarter. The company expects sales of $2.23 billion for the full fiscal year, compared with Street estimates of $2.22 billion.

Despite the better than expected sales outlook, Ann shares plunged on Friday, ending the day 7.03% lower at $23.53.

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.