Aeropostale Shares Slide 20% As Profit, Sales Fall Short

Aeropostale Inc. shares slid almost 20% in after-hours trade Thursday, after the teen retailer posted a wider-than-expected loss and weaker-than-expected sales for the first quarter. Aeropostale said it had a net loss of $45.3 million, or 57 cents a share, in the quarter, after a loss of $83.8 million, or 98 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding charges, the per-share loss was 56 cents, wider than the 54 cents consensus of analysts polled by FactSet. Sales fell 20% to $318.6 million, also below the FactSet consensus of $325 million. For the second quarter, the company is expecting operating losses of $37 million to $43 million, or 52 cents a share to 60 cents. Shares have gained 11.6% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 is up 3.4%.