AnnTaylor Stores Corporation reported its results for the fiscal third quarter and nine months ended November 3, 2007. Net sales for the third quarter advanced approximately 6% to $601 million, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter increased 22% to $0.66, the highest quarterly earnings per share in the Company's history.
Commenting on the results, Ann Taylor President & Chief Executive Officer Kay Krill stated, "Despite a difficult retail environment for much of the third quarter, we delivered solid margins and record earnings per share, reflecting our heightened focus on tightly managing the business and the ongoing benefit of our share repurchase program.
Traffic trends were particularly soft in the month of October and, notwithstanding the improvement we experienced in early November with the onset of colder weather, we have tempered our outlook somewhat for growth in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, we remain optimistic about the strength of our holiday offerings at both divisions, and we continue to expect to achieve strong EPS growth in the fourth quarter."
Third Quarter Results: Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 ended November 3, 2007 advanced 6.1% to $600.9 million, compared with net sales of $566.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2006 ended October 28, 2006.
This performance reflected expansion of the Company's store base and continued growth of the Company's Factory and internet businesses, partially offset by a modest decline in comparable store sales.
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