Michaels tops second-quarter profit forecasts, bumps outlook

Shares of Michaels Cos. jumped Thursday after the arts-and-crafts store operator topped analyst expectations in its fiscal second quarter and bumped up its forecast for the year.

The Irving-based company said it now expects full-year earnings of $1.66 to $1.72 a share, up a penny on both ends of the range from its forecast in June.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $1.70 per share, according to FactSet.

For the fiscal second quarter, Michaels earned $35.7 million, compared with a loss of $48.6 million last year, when the company also booked a higher interest expense and a heavier loss on the early retirement of debt and refinancing costs.

On a per-share basis, the company said it had profit of 17 cents in this year’s quarter. That beat average expectations on Wall Street by a penny, according to Zacks Investment Research.

The retailer’s revenue grew nearly 4 percent to $984.3 million in the period. That missed average analyst expectations for $997.4 million.

Shares of Michaels (ticker: MIK) climbed more than 6 percent, or $1.56, to $25.48 on the Nasdaq exchange. The stock had climbed 58 percent in the last 12 months before Thursday’s trading.

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Michaels tops second-quarter profit forecasts, bumps outlook."