Abercrombie & Fitch reports 19 pct drop in key sales figure for Dec., worse than predictions

Key Dec. sales figure drops at Abercrombie & Fitch

NEW ALBANY, Ohio — Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Thursday that sales in its stores open at least a year fell 19 percent in December, and the company will take an impairment charge for store-related assets in the fourth quarter.

The results were worse than the 12.5 percent drop analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected for the five-week period ending Jan. 2.

The figure is considered a key performance indicator for retailers because it excludes the effects of sales at stores that open or close during the year.

The company’s overall sales fell 11 percent to $482.5 million in the period. The company deducted $22 million in sales from that figure because of a promotion offering complimentary gift cards which must be redeemed by the end of January.

Shares fell $2.71, or 7.5 percent, to $33.50 in morning trading Thursday.

In the company’s Abercrombie & Fitch stores, sales at stores open at least a year fell 13 percent, while analysts expected a 7 percent decline.

At the children’s chain abercrombie, the figure fell 15 percent, compared with a forecast of 12.6 percent. At the Hollister Co. chain, sales at stores open at least a year fell 25 percent, worse than analyst forecasts for a 17.7 percent drop.

And at the Ruehl chain, the figure fell 1 percent, better than the 16.5 percent drop analysts forecast.

For the year to date, sales in the company’s stores that have been open at least a year have fallen 25 percent, while net overall sales have dropped 18 percent to $2.75 billion.

The company did not specify how much the non-cash impairment charge would be. It reports fourth-quarter results on Feb. 16.