Urban Outfitters says 4th-quarter sales measurements improved, stock rises in late trade

Shares of Urban Outfitters rose in after-market trading after the retailer company posted strong fourth-quarter sales.

Urban Outfitters said its net sales rose 12 percent to $1.01 billion during the three months that ended Jan. 31. Over the same period, sales at stores open at least a year grew 6 percent. Sales at stores open at least a year are considered an important measurement of retailer health because they exclude results from stores that opened or closed within the last year.

FactSet says analysts were expecting growth of 4.1 percent, on average.

Urban Outfitters Inc. stock rose $2.50, or 6.9 percent, to $39.01 after hours.

The Philadelphia company said by division, quarterly net sales for its Urban Outfitters brand rose 10 percent to $438.4 million, while revenue from its Anthropologie brand grew 9 percent to $413 million and Free People sales jumped 24 percent to $152.6 million.

Urban Outfitters said its total sales rose 8 percent to $3.3 billion in fiscal 2015, and sales at locations open a year up 2 percent.

The company will release quarterly results on March 9.