Guess Profit Tops Street; Stock Up 14%

(RTTNews) - Apparel retailer Guess? Inc. (GES) on Wednesday reported an increase in profit for the second quarter, despite lower-than-expected revenues reflecting a one-time gain. Earnings for the quarter easily trumped Wall Street estimates, sending the company's stock up over 14 percent in extended hours.

Guess' second-quarter profit rose to $32.3 million or $0.38 per share from $18.3 million or $0.21 per share last year. The company recorded a gain from the sale of a minority interest investment of about $22.3 million in the quarter.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $12.0 million or $0.14 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.07 per share for the quarter.

Revenues for the second quarter dropped to $545.0 million from $546.3 million last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $550.5 million for the quarter.

North American retail stores sales dropped 3 percent, while wholesale revenue decreased 8 percent. For the quarter, revenues at European business segment gained 6 percent, while Asia revenues decreased 6 percent.

Looking forward to the third quarter, Guess expects earnings of $0.11 to $0.16 per share and revenues to increase between 5 to 8 percent. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.16 per share and revenues to increase 9.10 percent.

For the full year, Guess expects revenue growth of 3.0 to 5.0 percent and earnings of $0.62 to $0.75 per share. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.60 per share on revenue growth of 4.2 percent for the year.

GES closed Wednesday's trading at $14.90, down $0.99 or 6.23%, on the NYSE. The stock, however, gained $2.16 or 14.50% in the after-hours trading.