J.Jill Shares Rise In Pre-Market On Upbeat Quarterly Results, Outlook

(RTTNews) - Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (JILL), an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel, were rising more than 7 percent in pre-market on Friday to $37, after reporting upbeat first-quarter results, above the Street expectations. The company also raised its full-year sales outlook.

Net income for the first quarter increased to $16.7 million or $1.16 per share from $4.6 million or $0.32 per share in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were 1.22 per share, that beat the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters of $1.09 per share.

Net sales for the quarter increased 7.5 percent to $161.5 million from $150.2 million in the previous year. The consensus estimate was for $160 million.

Total company comparable sales, including comparable store and direct to consumer sales, increased by 3.1 percent.

For the full year, the company now expects sales to increase 1 percent to 3 percent, up from the previous expectation for flat to low-single digit growth. analysts expect sales to grow 1.9 percent for the year.

J.Jill shares had closed at $35.21, down 0.25 percent on Thursday. The stock has traded in the range of $18.85 - $35.91 in the last 1 year.