Chico’s FAS Inc. shares jumped 2.3% in Tuesday premarket trading after the women’s fashion company reported a surprise third-quarter profit. Net income totaled $18.2 million, or 15 cents per share, after a loss of $55.9 million, or 48 cents per share, last year. Sales totaled $453.6 million, up from $351.4 million last year. The FactSet consensus was for a loss of 3 cents per share and sales of $428.0 million. Comparable sales rose 27.9%, ahead of the FactSet consensus for a 23.6%. Comparable sales growth was 23.3% at the Chico’s brand, White House Black Market was up 33.4% and Soma was up 30.2%. “The third quarter represents our best third quarter earnings performance since 2016,” said Molly Langenstein, Chico’s chief executive, in a statement. For the fourth quarter, Chico’s expects sales of $495 million to $510 million and EPS of $0.00 to 5 cents per share. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $481.8 million and EPS of 7 cents per share. Chico’s stock has skyrocketed 249% for the year to date while the S&P 500 index has gained 24% for the period.
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