Urban Outfitters slips aftermarket on mixed 2nd-quarter results and outlook

Shares of Urban Outfitters slipped in late trading as the clothing and accessories retailer gave a mixed view of its business, saying sales at its stores have slowed down in August.

For the second quarter in a row, Urban Outfitters said its profit fell because it spent more money on direct-to-consumer sales and moved an order fulfillment center. Its per-share profit was larger than analysts expected, buoyed by a stock repurchase. But the company's revenue fell short of expectations, and it said sales at stores in August have slowed down for all three of its brands.

Shares of the Philadelphia-based company lost 67 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $31.56 in extended trading. Earlier in the after-market session the stock rose almost 9 percent before falling nearly 7 percent.

The company said it earned $66.8 million, or 52 cents per share, over the three months that ended on July 31. That's down 1 percent from a year ago but it was better than analysts expected. Zacks Investment Research says analysts had forecast net income of 49 cents per share.

Urban Outfitters said its revenue grew 7 percent to $867.5 million as sales improved at all three of its Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie Group and Free People brands. Zacks said analysts expected $883.8 million in revenue, on average.

The company said sales at stores open at least a year grew 4 percent in the second quarter and said direct-to-consumer sales improved. Sales at stores open at least a year is considered an important measurement of how retailers are doing because it leaves out results from new stores or stores that recently closed.

While direct-to-consumer sales have continued to grow in the third quarter, the company said it's too soon to tell why sales at its stores have slowed down in the last few weeks.

Urban Outfitters Inc. stock is down about 8 percent in 2015 and closed at $32.23 on Monday. The shares reached an all-time high of $47.25 on March 20 and have fallen by almost a third from that price.

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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 URBN at http://www.zacks.com/ap/URBN

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Keywords: Urban Outfitters, Earnings Report