Restaurant operator Bob Evans Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: BOBE) and apparel designer and retailer Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES) both reported earnings growth on Tuesday that beat analysts' expectations.
Bob Evans said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 5% from the year-ago period to $16.1 million, or 52 cents per share. Revenue rose 4% to $436.4 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had estimated earnings of 41 cents per share on sales of $441.5 million.
The company said results were boosted by increases in both its restaurant and food products segments. Same-store sales at Bob Evans brand restaurants rose 1.7%. And the quarter included a pretax gain of $700,000 from the sale of real estate assets.
For the year, Bob Evans reported income of $64.9 million, or $1.95 per share, compared with $60.5 million, or $1.66 per share, in the prior year. Revenue rose 5% to $1.74 billion.
Shares rose 85 cents, or 3%, to close at $29.09. Shares are up 8.3% year to date.
Guess reported that its fiscal 2009 first-quarter profit climbed 35% to $47.8 million, or 51 cents per share, percent on strong growth and better margins in Europe and Asia. Revenue rose 29% to $489.2 million.
For the quarter ended May 3, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected profit of 46 cents per share on revenue of $453.6 million.
While North American sales rose 18%, in Europe sales rose 50% and in Asia sales climbed 27%.
Guess shares fell $1, or 2.6%, to close at $37.87, but then rose $2.98, or 7.9%, in after-hours trading. Shares are down 16.8% in the past year.
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