UPDATE: Foot Locker Beats Q4 Expectations, Shares Surge

Shares of

jumped more than 5% in pre-market trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. The New York-based company posted quarterly net earnings of $146 million, or $1.01 per share, compared to $121 million, or $0.81 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, the company earned $1 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $0.91 per share. Its total sales climbed 6.7% to $1.91 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.91 per share on revenue of $1.87 billion. Its same-store sales climbed 10.2%. At January 31, 2015, Foot Locker's merchandise inventory was $1,250 million, a 2.5% rise versus at the end of last year. At year-end 2014, Foot Locker had cash and cash equivalents of $967 million. During the fourth quarter, Foot Locker repurchased 2.34 million shares of its common stock for $131 million. During fiscal 2014, Foot Locker opened 86 new stores, remodeled/relocated 319 stores, and closed 136 stores. "Our strong top-line performance was accompanied by continued discipline in managing expenses," added Lauren Peters, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "As a result, we set many new records for our Company in 2014, including increasing our gross margin rate to 33.2 percent of sales and improving our annual SG&A expense rate to below 20 percent for the first time." Foot Locker shares climbed 5.65% to $60.25 in pre-market trading.