By Sam Boughedda
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) shares jumped at the open Monday after the company increased its fourth-quarter sales and operating margin outlook following a better-than-expected holiday period.
The clothing brand retailer now expects net sales for the fourth quarter to be up between 1% and 2%, up from previous expectations of net sales being down 2% to 4%. Operating margin for the quarter is now seen between 6% to 8%, up from previous expectations of between 5% to 7%.
Abercrombie shares are up more than 3% at the time of writing, adding to its recent gains.
For the full year fiscal 2022, Abercrombie sees net sales down around 1%, up from the previous expectation of sales being down 2% to 3%.
Both the company's fourth-quarter and full-year outlooks reflect the impact of foreign exchange headwinds.
"Our brands performed well during the peak holiday selling period, delivering sequential sales trend improvement from third quarter levels, leading us to increase our fourth quarter sales and operating margin outlook," said Abercrombie Chief Executive Fran Horowitz. "The strong momentum we have seen all year at the Abercrombie & Fitch brand continued in the holiday season with the women's business on track to deliver its highest fourth quarter sales ever. Importantly, this strong performance has been complemented by an acceleration in men's growth from third quarter trends."