Investing – Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) shares touched their year’s high and were up 14% Wednesday as the company roared back to quarterly profit with operating income of $57 million, the best for a first quarter since 2008.
Net income was $41.76 million against a loss of $244.03 million in the quarter ended May 2 last year.
Net sales rose 6% from first quarter 2019 pre-pandemic levels, riding on products that found resonance with new and existing customers. Tight control over inventories improved price realizations and margins.
Sales growth was achieved despite the reduction of 1.3 million gross square feet of store space, or 20%, compared to the first quarter of 2019.
The company behind the Hollister brand was successful in grabbing a share of the wallet loaded on stimulus checks as people went shopping both offline and online after a year of pandemic.
Total net sales grew 61% year-over-year to $781 million, with digital sales up 45%.