Finance & Capital Management

Columbus, Ohio -- Express Inc. reported Thursday that its third-quarter net income fell 23% to $32.4 million, compared with $42.1 million in the same period last year. Results, impacted by heavier discounting and higher costs, still beat Wall Street’s estimates.  

Revenue climbed 3% to $508.5 million, solidly topping analysts’ estimate of $498 million and prompting the apparel retailer to lift its full-year earnings forecast. Same-store sales were flat in the quarter, after a 4% gain last year.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Despite a dip in comparable store sales for the first quarter ended May 4, Fred’s topped the high end of its earnings guidance for the period.

Irvine, Calif. -- KTGY Group announced that Hutton Cos. has launched construction on La Verne Village, a 172-unit mixed-use residential and retail community in La Verne, Calif., located in the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles.

Situated on the site of a former automobile dealership on 7.69 acres, the La Verne Village luxury apartment homes are integrated within the village-center court, complete with more than 15,000 sq. ft. of integrated retail shopping and dining.

NEW YORK — Multichannel retailer Delia’s credited exiting brand Alloy and unseasonably cool weather for the dip in its first quarter results for the period ended May 4. Amid the “disappointing” first quarter results, the company has appointed a new CEO. 

New York -- The International Council of Shopping Centers announced that David J. LaRue, president and CEO of Forest City Enterprises, has been elected by ICSC’s Board of Trustees to serve as the association’s chairman for the 2013–2014 term.  

LaRue assumed his role as chairman on May 20 during RECon, ICSC’s annual meeting in Las Vegas.  He succeeds Brad Hutensky, president and principal of Hutensky Capital Partners.

Memphis -- Fred's Inc. said Thursday that profit for the quarter ended May 4 rose 9% to $11.4 million, from $10.5 million last year. Results topped Wall Street forecasts.

Revenue edged up to $501.5 million from $500.5 million, beating analysts’ estimated $499.5 million in revenue. Same-store sales dipped 1.3%.

New York -- Consumer sentiment for the week ended May 27 maintained a near five-year high level, according to the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index on Thursday.

Crediting an improving economy and healing personal finances, Americans are expressing continued optimism, as the Index was at minus 29.7 in the period compared with minus 29.4 a week earlier. The margin of error for the figure is 3 percentage points.

According to Bloomberg, views on the current state of the economy matched a mid-April reading as the strongest since January 2008.