Abercrombie & Fitch posts steeper-than-expected first-quarter adjusted loss

The apparel retailer posted a loss of $244.1M, or $3.90 a share

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported a wider-than-expected adjusted loss for the first quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic led the company to shut its stores during the period.

The apparel retailer posted a loss of $244.1 million, or $3.90 a share, compared with a loss of $19.2 million, or 29 cents a share, in the comparable quarter last year. It booked asset-impairment charges of 62 cents a share and tax effect of $1.45 a share.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. store in San Francisco, California, U.S.. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images).

Adjusted losses were $3.29 a share, wider than the $1.39 a share analysts polled by FactSet had expected

Sales fell to $485.4 million from $734 million in the year-ago period. Analysts were looking for $497.3 million. Digital sales rose about 25%, with acceleration in mid-March through April and also May, Chief Executive Fran Horowitz said.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
ANF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO. 152.15 +10.51 +7.42%

The company said half of its stores are open, and that it continues to reopen stores globally.

Abercrombie & Fitch said it isn't providing detailed guidance for the second quarter and full year.

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By the end of the first quarter, the company had inventories of $427 million, down 1% from the year-ago period.

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