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First Posted: 8/17/2012 (AP) Strong sales from its Ann Taylor and Loft brands boosted Ann Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter revenue, pushing the women's clothier's net income up 24 percent. The performance easily beat analysts' estimates.
The retailer also lifted its fiscal 2012 revenue outlook Friday. Its stock gained more than 6 percent in premarket trading.
For the period ended July 28, Ann Inc. earned $30.7 million, or 63 cents per share. That's up from $24.8 million, or 47 cents per share, a year ago.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet predicted 51 cents per share.
Revenue for the New York company rose 7 percent to $594.9 million from $558.2 million, with sales up at Ann Taylor and Loft.
Wall Street expected $586.7 million in revenue.
Shares of Ann added $1.86, or 6.6 percent, to $30 before the market opened.
Revenue at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer's health, increased 4.7 percent. This figure excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.
For Ann Taylor, the metric climbed 5.6 percent. It climbed 4.2 percent for the Loft brand. With both brands, their biggest increases came in online sales.
"Clearly, our performance at both brands demonstrated strong product acceptance driven by the successful delivery of compelling fashion, excellent quality, outstanding value and an engaging shopping experience, in store and online," President and CEO Kay Krill said in a statement.
Ann now expects full-year revenue will approach $2.39 billion. It previously called for $2.38 billion in revenue. The company forecasts third-quarter revenue of $600 million.
Analysts foresee full-year revenue of $2.37 billion and third-quarter revenue of $606.4 million.
Ann had 962 Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Factory, Loft and Loft Outlet stores in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico at the end of the quarter.
<a title="Associated Press" href="http://www.ap.org" class="url org fn">Associated Press</a>

Ann 2Q profit up on strong Ann Taylor, Loft sales