Turnaround not yet paying off for ANF

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF reported fourth-quarter and fiscal 2014 results before markets opened Wednesday. For the quarter, the specialty retailer posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.15 on revenues of $1.12 billion U.S.

In the prior-year quarter, the company reported EPS of $0.85 on revenues of $1.3 billion U.S. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.15 and $1.17 billion U.S. in revenues.

For the full year, Abercrombie reported EPS of $1.54 on revenues of $3.74 billion U.S, compared with 2013 results of $1.91 in EPS on revenues of $4.12 billion U.S. Analysts were looking for EPS of $1.56 and revenues of $3.78 billion U.S.

Full-year same-store sales fell 12%, while direct-to-consumer sales rose 10%, for a combined decline of 8%.

In its outlook for 2015, Abercrombie said it expects the negative impact on same-store sales as a result of lower logo sales to "modestly abate and neutralize in the second half" of 2015. Headwinds from currency exchange rates are forecast to be "significant."

Shares traded down $1.89, or 7.9% at $22.10 U.S. in early morning trade on Wednesday, creating a new 52-week low, compared to a high of $45.50 U.S. The consensus target price for the shares was $29.00 U.S. before the report.