Ascena Retail Q1 Revenues Top Wall Street, Shares Up 11%

(RTTNews) - Shares of Ascena Retail Group Inc. (ASNA) gained 11% in extended trading session on Monday after the retailer's revenues trumped Wall Street estimates.

Ascena's first-quarter profit dropped to $5.9 million or $0.03 per share from $6.6 million or $0.03 per share last year.

Third-quarter sales rose to $1.591 billion from $1.589 billion last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimate revenues of $1.56 billion for the quarter.

CEO David Jaffe said, "Our first quarter results represent another step forward in our journey to transform ascena into a more agile, profitable company. We delivered a 3% comparable sales increase, driven by strength at our Premium and Kids segments. Adjusted earnings per share of 6 cents came in at the top of our guide, driven by better than expected top-line growth."

Gross margin decreased to 59.4% of sales from 60.7% of sales a year ago.

Moving ahead, Ascena expects second-quarter adjusted loss of $0.25 to $0.15 per share and revenues of $1.675 billion to $1.705 billion.

The company continues to expect full year 2019 adjusted earnings of $0.00 to $0.10 per share.

ASNA closed Monday's trading at $2.73, down $0.28 or 9.30%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, gained $0.30 or 10.99% in the after-hours trading.