Shares of Men’s Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) surged in trading today after the retailer posted better-than-expected second-quarter profit, driven by solid sales and improved margins.
Houston, Texas-based Men’s Wearhouse, which is one of the largest specialty retailers in North America, reported second-quarter earnings of $59.4 million, or $1.15 per share, compared to $57.1 million, or $1.09 per share reported for the same period in the previous year.
MW’s revenue for the second quarter ended July 28 rose 1% to $662.3 million.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting the company to report second-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share and revenue of $662.9 million.
Same-store sales for the quarter rose 4.4% at MW’s namesake stores. Same-store sales at K&G stores fell 3.3%, while at Moors chain of stores it rose 2.5%.
Doug Ewert, President and CEO of Men’s Wearhouse, said that sales at MW’s flagship brand Men’s Wearhouse stores, which accounted for approximately 65% of the company’s second-quarter sales, were above both prior year sales and the company’s plan for the second quarter. Ewert said that the company continues to focus on improving K&G’s performance.
Looking ahead, Men’s Wearhouse expects fiscal 2012 earnings to be between $2.74 per share and $2.80 per share. This compares to Street estimate of $3.05 per share. For the third quarter, the retailer expects earnings to be between $0.95 per share and $0.98 per share, compared to analysts’ estimate of $0.97 per share. For the fourth-quarter, earnings are expected to be between $0.12 per share and $0.15 per share, compared to analysts’ estimate of $0.09 per share.
MW shares rose to an intra-day high of $38.08 in trading today before ending the day 18.69% higher at $37.79 on above average volume of 3.83 million. MW shares have outperformed the S&P 500 this year, gaining 16.6% year-to-date, compared to S&P 500’s gain of 13.88%.
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