ANF - Abercrombie & Fitch boosts outlook after holiday sales surprise to the upside

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ( NYSE: ANF ) boosted its Q4 guidance ahead of an appearance on Monday at the ICR Conference in Orlando, Florida. Of note, the women's business was said to have recorded its highest Q4 sales tally ever,

CEO update: "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."

A&F reported that sales were up 1% to 2% in the quarter vs. a prior range for -2% to -4%. Operating margin guidance was set at 6% to 8% vs. a prior range of 5% to 7%. For the full year, sales fell 1% vs. a prior outlook for -2% to -3%. The Q4 outlook from A&F reflects an adverse impact of approximately 210 basis points from foreign currency, down from approximately 300 basis points in the previous outlook. The current full year outlook reflects an adverse impact of approximately 220 basis points from foreign currency, down from approximately 250 basis points in the previous outlook.

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch ( ANF ) slipped 0.65% in premarket trading.

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