Gymboree Net Income Jumps as Sales Rise 8%

Children’s apparel retailer Gymboree Corp. on Tuesday reported a jump in third-quarter earnings, helped by a strong increase in sales and lower interest expense, as the company paid down debt.

The retailer posted earnings for the third quarter ended Nov. 2 of $6.3 million, or 21 cents a share, up from $1.8 million, or 6 cents, a year earlier. The latest results included a one-time expense of a penny a share due to the early repayment of the company’s remaining debt.

The company backed its earlier guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter and said it now expects full-year earnings of 75 cents to 77 cents a share. Analysts had expected 76 cents a share on average, according to Thomson First Call.

Sales rose 8% to $144.1 million. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open for at least a year, rose 7%.

The Burlingame-based company also said it expects fiscal-year 2003 earnings in the range of 92 cents to $1 a share. Analysts were expecting 94 cents a share on average.

Same-store sales for November are expected to be flat, but the company reaffirmed its guidance for same-store sales in the quarter to rise in the low- to mid-single-digit percent range.

This month, Gymboree raised its third-quarter earnings forecast to a range of 18 cents to 20 cents a share. Analysts then raised their estimates to an average of 20 cents, according to research firm Thomson First Call.

Gymboree stock fell 25 cents to close at $19.26 on Nasdaq. Earnings were released after the market closed.