Foot Locker's profit and sales rise above expectations

Athletic footwear retailer Foot Locker Inc. reported Friday a fiscal second-quarter profit that rose to $119 million, or 84 cents a share, from $92 million, or 63 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. That beat the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of 69 cents. Sales for the quarter ended Aug. 1 increased 3.3% to $1.7 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.66 billion, while same-store sales growth of 9.6% was well above expectations of a 5.9% rise. Gross margin improved by 0.6 percentage points to 32.6%, as expenses declined. "We extended the momentum with which we started 2015, generating outstanding quarterly sales and profits in the second quarter," said Chief Executive Richard Johnson. "We continued to achieve broad-based and consistent strength across geographies, banners, channels, and categories." The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 28% year to date, while the S&P 500 has slipped 1.1%.

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