Teen apparel, accessories, and footwear retailer Buckle, Inc. (BKE) reported Thursday a profit for the first quarter that edged down from last year, despite a 1.2 percent sales growth at established stores, as other income dropped. Both earnings per share and quarterly revenues missed analysts' expectations.
Buckle is a retailer of medium to better-priced casual apparel, footwear and accessories for fashion-conscious young men and women. It currently operates over 444 stores in 43 states. Buckle offers the fashion fickle teenager what they want at low prices.
The Kearney, Nebraska-based retailer reported net income of $37.55 million or $0.78 per share for the first quarter, edging down from $37.81 million or $0.79 per share in the prior-year quarter.
On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.82 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Sales, net of returns and allowances, for the quarter grew 2.3 percent to $269.71 million from $263.76 million in the same quarter last year, but missed ten Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $272.48 million.
Comparable store net sales for the first quarter increased 1.2 percent. Comparable store sales is a key performance metric in retail industry.
The company noted that comparable store net sales for the quarter are compared to the 13-week period ended May 5, 2012 due to the 53rd week in fiscal 2012.
Online sales, which are not included in comparable store sales, increased 6.0 percent to $20.9 million from $19.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
Income from operations for the first quarter increased to $59.26 million from $58.02 million in the prior-year quarter, while total operating expenses were $57.75 million, up from $56.17 million in the year-ago quarter.
Gross profit for the first quarter rose to $117.01 million from $114.20 million in the same quarter last year.
In Thursday's regular trading session, BKE is currently trading at $54.11, down $3.03 or 5.30% on a volume of 0.20 million shares.
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