Foothill Ranch-based clothing retailer Wet Seal Inc. reported its second straight quarterly net profit on strong sales and lower debt expense.
Wet Seal, which runs mall stores catering to teens and young women, reported net income of $2.4 million for the quarter ended Oct. 28, versus a loss of $6.5 million a year earlier.
The company has lost money for the past two years as it worked through a turnaround that started in 2004.
The latest quarterly profit includes $5.6 million in stock compensation expenses and $100,000 in interest costs. Excluding those, profits were $8.1 million, in line with what analysts had expected.
Sales were up 11% to $143.3 million. Wall Street was expecting $141 million.
For the current holiday season quarter, Wet Seal forecasts profits of $9 million to $12 million.
Sales could come in at $166 million to $169 million.
The sales figure is higher than what analysts had in mind, though profits are slightly below prior expectations.
