Saks Up 3.5% On Strong Earnings (SKS)

Saks Incorporated SKS is up more than 3.5% this morning after the luxury retailer reported better than expected earnings this morning. Saks reported earnings of 20 cents per share. Excluding items, it reported 6 cents per share, 3 cents better than Wall Street estimates. Revenues rose to $658.8 million, topping Wall Street expectations for $656 million. Gross margins rose 230 basis points to 42.6%. "We feel much better about the overall tone of business and the way our customers are responding to our initiatives," CEO Steve Sadove said in a statement. At last check, shares of SKS were trading at $11.72, a gain of 40 cents to 3.5%.