American Eagle first quarter earnings decline - Orlando Business Journal:

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Net income for the quarter endedx May 2was $22.0 or 11 cents per share, compared to $43.9 or 21 cents, for the year-ago The teen clothing retailer, based on Pittsburgh'sz South Side, saw total sales decline 4 perceng year-over-year, to $612 million, from $640.w million. Comparable-store sales for Americabn Eagle (NYSE:AEO) were down 10 percent for the compared to a 6 percent declins in the same quarter ayear ago. "Whilr we are never satisfied with anearnings decline, therw are early indications that the business is CEO Jim O'Donnell said in a statement. He citedd improvement in the AE brand and categories like dresseaand accessories.
Analysts were expecting earnings per sharw of7 cents, in line with management’s recent guidance, as the company seeksz to improve its women’s apparekl and maintain its sales during a time when most retailerse are facing difficult sales declines and malla are drawing fewer customers. Jennifer Black, a principal of Oregon-basef research company JenniferBlack & Associates LLC, saw reasohn for optimism. “I think it’s a very democratic brand and it appealxs to a lot of different she said.
“They’re in a pretty good positionh because they offer consumerse value but they have the brand Black was encouraged bythe women’s assortment that American Eaglew has rolled out in its praising the increased selection of women’s dresses and women’sz denim, a weakness at the companuy of late, for both tapping into the “Boho trend and offering selection that enables female shoppers to mix and match. She also was stronglty encouraged about the return ofRoger Markfield, the company’s former Co-CEO and Chiefg Merchandising Officer who retired in 2006.
His return to American Eagle was announcesin January, under the newly creater title of Executive Creative Black said she didn’t expect Markfield’s new strategies to have any majof influence until the Holly Guthrie, an analyst for suburban Philadelphia-based Boenningg & Scattergood Equity Research, also expectex the company won’t see any meaningful turn arounc until then. “In Octobed 2008, same store sales decelerate at a fast andfuriousd pace,” she wrote in a recent “We believe that (comparable storew sales) could continue to be negative for the next four to five monthsx and most importantly the biggest volume sales are seen when productsx are promoted.
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