Abercrombie's Hollister posts first comp sales rise in a year

[March 02, 2017]  (Reuters) - U.S. teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co <ANF.N> said on Thursday quarterly comparable sales of Hollister, its largest brand, increased for the first time in a year.

The company's shares rose 3.2 percent to $12.06 in premarket trading.

Abercrombie reported a surprise 1 percent rise in comparable sales at Hollister, compared with the 0.7 percent decline expected by analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.

The company said it closed 54 stores, mainly in the United States, in 2016 and that it would shutter 60 stores this year.

Net income attributable to the company fell to $48.8 million, or 71 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, from $57.7 million, or 85 cents per share.

The retailer said net sales fell about 7 percent to $1.04 billion.

Analysts on average had expected $1.05 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

A person carries a bag from the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

The company also forecast comparable sales to improve in the year ending January 2018, with Hollister expected to maintain or improve sales and the Abercrombie brand expected to improve.

(Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)

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