Men's Wearhouse Inc. (MW) Wednesday said its first-quarter profit rose 23 percent from a year ago, helped mainly by sales growth and stronger margins. Both earnings and revenues for the quarter came in ahead of Wall Street expectations. The retailer also reaffirmed its full-year earnings per share outlook.
Men's Wearhouse reported a first-quarter profit of $33.1 million or $0.65 per share, up from $26.9 million or $0.52 per share last year. On average, six analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.55 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company said about $0.10 of the earnings increase was due to a tuxedo prom season shift from the second quarter reflecting an early Easter.
Men's Wearhouse, which retails men's suits and sportswear, said first-quarter sales grew 5.1 percent to $616.54 million from $586.57 million last year. Five analysts estimated revenues of $604.74 million for the quarter.
Retail segment sales for the quarter increased 4.4 percent, while corporate apparel sales increased by 13 percent.
Brand wise, sales at the company's namesake stores rose 8.2 percent, while sales at K&G dropped 5.6 percent. Sales at Canadian store chain Moores dropped 3.1 percent, and MW Cleaners advanced 8.7 percent.
Gross margin for the period improved to 45.08 percent from 43.31 percent last year.
Looking forward to the fiscal year 2013, the company continues to expect earnings in the range of $2.70 to $2.80 per share. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $2.75 per share for the year.
MW closed Wednesday's regular trade at $35.59, down $0.21 or 0.59%, on the NYSE. The stock, however, gained $1.35 or 3.79% in after hours trade.
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