Wall Street Journal
By Lauren Pollock
Gap Inc. said its fiscal-first quarter earnings will fall short of Wall Street forecasts as the recent natural disasters in Japan will hurt its profit in the period. The casual-apparel retailer also reported weak same-store sales for March.
"Our overall March performance was impacted by the tragic events in Japan, as well as the Easter shift into late April," Chief Executive Glenn Murphy said. "Our company has operated in Japan for more than 15 years, with over 150 stores today, so the devastating earthquake touched all of us at Gap Inc."
The earthquake and tsunami in Japan will shave 4 cents off earnings in the quarter ended April 2, Gap said. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were recently looking for 44 cent a share.
Gap on Thursday reported that same-store sales for March slipped 10%, following an 11% increase the year before. The Street was looking for a 7% decline. At the Old Navy division, same-store sales slipped 12%, while Gap North America posted a 9% slide.
In February, Gap said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 3.7%.
