Foot Locker sprints past 1Q expectations

NEW YORK (AP) -- Foot Locker's first-quarter net income climbed 17 percent as comparable store sales jumped nearly 8 percent and margins widened.

The shoe store topped Wall Street expectations on both profit and revenue, sending company shares up 2 percent before the opening bell Friday.

For the period ended May 3, Foot Locker earned $162 million, or $1.10 per share. A year earlier it earned $138 million, or 90 cents per share.

Removing from the final results about $2 million tied to the impairment of a trade name and the acquisition of Germany's Runners Point Group, earnings were $1.11 per share. That's a nickel better than analysts had projected, according to a FactSet poll.

Revenue for the New York company rose 14 percent to $1.87 billion from $1.64 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year increased 7.6 percent. Industry watchers pay close attention to that number because it removes the volatility of recently closed or opened stores, and provides a better gauge of a retailer's health.

The gross margin rate rose to 34.6 percent, from 34.2 percent last year. At the same time, selling, general, and administrative expenses fell to 19 percent of sales, from 19.2 percent.

Shares of Foot Locker Inc. gained $1.05 to $49.22 before the opening bell.