Urban Outfitters Q4 profit surges 92%

Philadelphia Urban Outfitters reported on Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped 92% to $77.7 million, compared with $40.5 million a year earlier, as the company gained from record sales, rising margins and a lower tax bill.

For the three months ended Jan. 31, the company reported sales of $588.5 million, up from $508.1 million a year earlier.

Same-store sales rose by 4%, led by Anthropologie, up 10%, and Free People, up 11%. Sales at the flagship Urban Outfitters stores were flat.

“The sales and profit trend improved in each quarter throughout 2009, and our current February [comparable] sales performance exceeded our fourth quarter ‘comp,’” CEO Glen T. Senk said. “Our team continued to exhibit exceptional discipline in managing expenses while simultaneously making strategic investments in design, the supply chain, technology, international, direct-to-consumer and our newest businesses, Terrain and Leifsdottir.”

For the full year, Urban Outfitters had a profit of $219.9 million, up from $199.4 million in the previous fiscal year. For the year, sales totaled $1.9 billion, up from $1.8 billion a year earlier.

The company operates 155 Urban Outfitters stores, 137 Anthropologie locations and 34 Free People stores. Its Leifsdottir wholesale line is sold through 65 specialty and department stores. It has one Terrain garden center, in Glen Mills, Pa.