Retailer Michaels beats 2Q profit expectations, raises forecast for 2015

Shares of Michaels Cos. Jumped Thursday after the arts and crafts store operator topped analyst expectations in its fiscal second quarter and bumped up its forecast for the year.

The Irving, Texas, company said it now expects full-year earnings of between $1.66 and $1.72 per share, up a penny on both ends of the range from a forecast it made in June.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $1.70 per share, according to FactSet.

For the fiscal second quarter, Michaels earned $35.7 million compared to a loss of $48.6 million last year, when the company also booked a higher interest expense and a heavier loss on the early extinguishment of debt and refinancing costs.

On a per-share basis, the Irving, Texas-based company said it had profit of 17 cents in this year's quarter.

That beat average expectations on Wall Street by a penny, according to Zacks Investment Research.

The retailer's revenue grew nearly 4 percent to $984.3 million in the period. That missed average analyst expectations for $997.4 million.

Shares of Michaels Cos. Inc. climbed 5 percent, or $1.20, to $25.12 in midday trading, while broader indexes rose around 2 percent.

The company's stock had slipped slightly more than 3 percent since the beginning of the year, as of Wednesday's close. The stock has climbed 58 percent in the last 12 months.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MIK at http://www.zacks.com/ap/MIK

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Keywords: Michaels, Earnings Report