Gap Inc. April Comparable Store Sales up 8%; Expects Q1 EPS of $0.38 to $0.39

Gap Inc. GPS today reported that April 2011 net sales increased 10 percent compared with last year. Net sales for the four-week period ended April 30, 2011 were $1.15 billion compared with net sales of $1.05 billion for the four-week period ended May 1, 2010. The company's comparable sales for April 2011, which include the associated comparable online sales, were up 8 percent compared with a 2 percent decrease in April 2010. The company expects diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 to be in the range of $0.38 to $0.39 with merchandise margins significantly down.