Retail Round-Up: Aeropostale, Guess, rue21 All Report Earnings

A trio of clothing retailers released their quarterly earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday. Guess? GES rose around 4.5 percent in the after hours trading session after its report, while Aeropostale ARO fell almost eight percent. Small-cap name rue21 RUE was down only slightly after its results. Guess shares rose sharply during normal trading hours ahead of the company's third-quarter results and continued to climb in the wake of the report in late trading. All told, the stock added almost 10 percent on the day. The company has been struggling in recent years as operating margins have come under pressure, but sales have continued to rise on an annual basis. Net income, however, fell in fiscal 2012 versus the year ago period. Over the last decade, GES has soared over 1,900 percent but the stock is down 41 percent over the last 5 years as investors have been concerned about less robust growth rates at the retailer. As of Wednesday's close the stock had lost a little more than 15 percent in 2012. For the fiscal third-quarter, the company reported net earnings of $36.65 million or $0.43 per share, compared to $66.30 million or $0.71 per share, in the year ago period. This missed Wall Street analysts' consensus earnings per share estimates of $0.44 by a penny. Sales in the period were down 2.2 percent to $628.83 million from $642.80 million in last year's third-quarter. The results topped Wall Street consensus revenue estimates of $624.54 million. Looking ahead to the fourth-quarter, Guess said that it expects earnings per share of $0.85 to $0.95 on revenue of $780 million to $8000 million. This compares to current consensus estimates of $0.95 per share in earnings and revenue of $789.17 million for the fiscal fourth-quarter. For fiscal 2013, the company lowered its outlook. Earnings are now expected to be between $2.05 and $2.15 per share on revenue of $2.62 billion to $2.64 billion. This compares to the company's previous guidance of $2.15 to $2.30 per share on revenue of $2.62 billion to $2.65 billion. The updated revenue guidance implies that Guess will report its first annual sales decrease in the last five years. The guidance is also below analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 per share on revenue of $2.63 billion for fiscal 2013. The company's board of directors approved a special dividend of $1.20 per share which will be paid along with the quarterly dividend of $0.20. The combined dividends will be payable on December 28, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 12, 2012. Guess competitor Aeropostale also released its fiscal third-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The company reported a slight rise in net income to $24.9 million from $24.1 million in the year ago quarter. On a per share basis, Aeropostale earned $0.31 versus $0.30 last year. This beat Wall Street earnings per share estimates of $0.29 by two pennies. Net sales in the quarter were up 2 percent to $605.9 million from $596.5 million in last year's fiscal third-quarter. This also exceeded Wall Street consensus estimates of $600.44 million. While Aeropostale's third-quarter numbers beat Wall Street expectations, the stock was under pressure in the after hours due to poor guidance. The company said that it sees earnings per share in a range of $0.36 to $0.41 for the fiscal fourth-quarter. This is well below current consensus earnings expectations of $0.54 for the upcoming quarter. Shares of smaller retail competitor rue21 fell just 0.21 percent in after hours trading compared to a jump for Guess and a near eight percent decline for Aeropostale. rue21 reported earnings results for the third-quarter which were ahead of Wall Street consensus, but sales missed expectations. The company also lifted its full-year fiscal 2012 earnings outlook. For the period, rue21 reported adjusted net income of $10.0 million or $0.41 per share. This was two pennies better than analysts' consensus earnings per share estimates of $0.39. Total sales in the quarter were up 15.6 percent to $225.16 million from $194.76 million in last year's third-quarter. This came up short of analysts' consensus revenue estimates of $228.85 million. Looking ahead, rue21 said that it sees fourth-quarter earnings between $0.60 and $0.63 per share. Currently, Wall Street analysts are modeling fourth quarter earnings per share of $0.63 for the company. For fiscal 2012, the company raised its adjusted earnings per share outlook to a range of $1.83 to $1.86 from its previous guidance range of $1.80 to $1.85 per share. This compares to current consensus of $1.85 per share for fiscal 2012.