Is Abercrombie & Fitch on the comeback trail?

It appears that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is starting to making progress in its turnaround efforts.



Helped by a less promotional stance and cost cuts, the teen retailer saw its profit more than double in its third quarter as it beat expectations. But similar to many other retailers, Abercrombie struck a cautious note and said it expects fourth-quarter same-store sales to be about flat.



Abercrombie’s net income rose to $41.9 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31, from $18.2 million a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.48, versus $0.22 expected.



Revenue fell to $878.6 million from $911.5 million in the year-ago period, but still managed to beat estimates.



Same-store sales decreased 1%. Analysts had expected a 2.4% decline. By brand, same-store sales fell 5% at Abercrombie, but rose 3% at Hollister.



"Our third quarter results exceeded our expectations coming into the quarter and provide the strongest validation yet that our initiatives are working, said Arthur Martinez, executive chairman, Abercrombie. “We have seen positive customer response to the actions we have been taking on a number of fronts. We saw continued sequential improvement in comparable sales, led by positive comparable sales for our Hollister brand and across our international business.”



The retailer has been without a CEO for almost a year. It is still considering internal and external candidates, according to a report by Bloomberg Business.



“I don’t consider this to be a problem at all, and neither does the board,” Martinez told Bloomberg Business. “The strategy and momentum are all moving in the right direction. This is not something you want five years from now, but at the moment, our governance structure is working.”