The US clothing group American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO) was able to keep its sales almost constant in the 2022/23 financial year, but had to accept a significant drop in profits.
CEO Jay Schottenstein was overall satisfied with the results presented on Wednesday evening. He was “proud” of how the company mastered the “unexpected macroeconomic challenges” last year, he said in a statement. According to Schottenstein, the clothing supplier “took aggressive action early in the year” to adjust inventories and costs.
In the past fiscal year, which ended on January 28, the group’s sales amounted to 4.99 billion US dollars (4.70 billion euros). It was only 0.4 percent below the level of the previous year.
The Aerie label developed positively, with revenues increasing by nine percent to USD 1.51 billion. The core American Eagle brand, on the other hand, had to accept a drop in sales of eight percent to 3.26 billion US dollars. In the other business areas, revenues rose to 220.1 million US dollars, mainly thanks to the takeover of the logistics company Quiet.
Earnings were impacted by higher price discounts, higher selling expenses and negative special effects. The operating profit shrank compared to the previous year by 58 percent to 247.0 million US dollars. Net income even fell by 70 percent and was 125.1 million US dollars (117.8 million euros).
For the current year, the current forecast envisages a sales development between zero percent and an increase of a “low single-digit percentage”. Operating profit is to be increased to between 270 and 310 million US dollars.
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