Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) opened more than 30% down on Tuesday after the apparel retailer reported a surprise loss for its fiscal first quarter.
Abercrombie & Fitch Q1 earnings snapshot
Net loss printed at $16.5 million that translates to 32 cents per share.
This compared to last year’s $41.8 million in net income or 64 cents a share.
On an adjusted basis, per-share loss registered at 27 cents in the recent quarter.
Sales jumped 4.0% YoY to $812.8 million, as per the earnings press release.
FactSet consensus was for 2 cents of EPS on $799.3 million in sales.
Inventories were up 45% year-over-year in the fiscal first quarter.
The American lifestyle retailer blamed inflationary pressures for the unexpected loss. It forecasts higher costs to weigh on performance in the balance of 2022. The stock is now down nearly 50% for the year.
Future outlook and CEO Horowitz’ remarks
For fiscal 2022, Abercrombie & Fitch expects up to 2.0% annualised growth in sales. In comparison, analysts had called for a 2.70% increase. Its current quarter outlook was also below expectations. In the earnings press release, CEO Fran Horowitz said:
We will continue to manage expenses tightly and are committed to finding opportunities to offset these costs while protecting strategic investments in marketing, technology, and customer experience, which should drive sustained, long-term sales growth.
Wall Street, at present, rates ANF at “overweight” with upside to $38 a share.
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