Five Below Profit Tops Street; Lifts FY Sales Guidance - Update

(RTTNews) - Specialty retailer Five Below Inc (FIVE), Wednesday reported an increase in first-quarter profit, on a near 32 percent jump in sales with both earnings and revenue topping Wall Street estimates.

Five Below provided some soft guidance for the first quarter but lifted its sales expectations for 2014. Following the announcement, the company's shares gained about 4 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.

Demand for the company's merchandise was strong during the quarter, especially in the weeks leading to Easter, said CEO Thomas Vellios in a statement.

Five Below operates as a discount retailer, offering teens and pre-teen shoppers, products from headphones to fashion accessories, all priced at $5 or below.

The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based retailer posted first-quarter net earnings to stockholders of $3 million or $0.06 per share, compared with $1.5 million or $0.03 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $3.6 million or $0.07 per share, compared with $2.5 million or $0.05 per share a year ago.

On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.06 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Sales for the quarter jumped 32 percent to $126 million from $95.6 million in the prior year. Fourteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $121.98 million for the quarter.

On a same-store basis, sales for the quarter were up 6.2 percent.

The company opened 19 new stores and ended the quarter with 323 stores. In 2014, it plans to open 62 stores.

For the second quarter, Five Below expects earnings of $0.12 to $0.13 per share and sales of $150 million to $152 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.14 per share on sales of $151.7 million for the quarter.

For fiscal 2014, the company continues to expect net earnings of $0.85 to $0.88 per share and adjusted earnings of $0.86 to $0.89 per share. Sales are now expected in the range of $675 million to $681 million, from a prior range of $672 million to $678 million.

Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.89 per share on sales of $680.11 million for the year.

Five Below closed Wednesday at $36.53, up $0.36 or 1.00%, on a volume of 1.6 million shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock gained $1.37 or 3.75%, to trade at $37.90.