Gap 1Q beats by a penny
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May 17, 2001: 5:14 p.m. ET
Clothing retailer posts 1Q earnings of 13 cents as profits fall 51%
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Clothing retailer Gap Inc. beat lowered Wall Street expectations Thursday by a penny while profit fell by 51 percent.
San Francisco-based Gap (GPS: up $0.75 to $34.90, Research, Estimates) , owner of Old Navy and Banana Republic as well as Gap, reported first quarter earnings of $115 million, or 13 cents a share compared to $235 million, or 27 cents for the same time period in 2000.
Earnings tracker First Call had expected 12 cents a share.
Sales for Gap jumped to $3.2 billion from $2.7 billion last year. Earnings before income taxes dropped to $181.9 million from $370.8 million.
Gap Chief Financial Officer Heidi Kunz said the retailer, which has been criticized for its "fashion sameness" of khaki pants and blue shirts, is still experiencing challenges.
"While the positive reaction to summer product was promising in April, we do expect the second quarter to remain promotional and anticipate comps to be in the negative mid-single digit range," Kunz said.
Earlier this month, Gap lowered first quarter earnings expectations to 12 or 13 cents a share. The forecast was the latest in a series of warnings from the nation's leading clothing retailer.
Gap said Thursday comparable store sales dropped 7 percent.
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