Buckle & Zumiez lift Wall Street

Buckle Inc's (BKE) saw earning grow 13 per cent during its fiscal fourth-quarter thanks

to stronger results on same-store sales improvements and improved online sales. In the meantime Zumiez Inc.'s (ZUMZ) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 25 per cent.

Buckle, which sells brands like Diesel and Guess, has seen improved sales and double-digit earnings growth in recent quarters. However, rising labor and cotton prices have eroded margins considerably. For the quarter ended January 2012, Buckle reported a profit of $56.1 million (about Rs 281 crores), or $1.18 (about Rs 59) a share, up from $49.5 million (about Rs 248 crores), or $1.05 (about Rs 53) a share, a year earlier. These data contrast with Thomson Reuters analysts, which expected $1.14 (about Rs 57) per-share earnings of. Gross margin edged down to 47.4 per cent from 47.6 per cent, as the cost of sales rose 12 per cent. Shares closed Wednesday at $47.88 (about Rs 2,403). It is worthy of note highlighting that the stock has risen 20 per cent over the past three months.

Still in Wall Street, American Eagle Outfitters recorded a 41 per cent cut to net profit. However, online sales rose 18 per cent in the quarter and 15 per cent in the year as a whole. Full-year sales rose 6 per cent to $3.16 bn (about Rs 15,860 crores), with comparable store sales up 3 per cent, while net income to increase 7.9 per cent to $151.7 m (about Rs 761 crores).

Finally, on Thursday Zumiez Inc.'s (ZUMZ) reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings up by 25 per cent. Their forecast per-share earnings is of 6 cents (Rs 2.9) to 8 cents (Rs 3.9) on net sales of $123 million (about Rs 617 crores) to $125 million (about Rs 627 crores). In contrast, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated 9 cents (about Rs 4.4) per share against net sales of $122 million (about Rs 612 crores). For the quarter ended Jan. 28, Zumiez reported a profit of $18.7 million (about Rs 93 crores), or 60 cents (Rs 29.9) a share, up from $15 million (Rs 75 crores), or 49 cents (Rs 24.4) a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 18 per cent to $183.9 million (Rs 923 crores). Zumiez in January raised its forecast to 57 cents (Rs 28.4) to 58 cents (Rs 29) on sales of $180 million (about Rs 903 crores) to $181 million (about Rs 908 crores). Gross margin improved to 38.9 per cent from 38.3 per cent.