Higher retail sales boost Gymboree 1Q results

Earnings for the quarter ended May 3 rose to $25 million, or 86 cents per share, from $20.9 million, or 67 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue rose 16 percent to $242.1 million from $209.3 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, predicted a profit of 84 cents per share on revenue of $240 million.

Gymboree previously reported same-store sales rose 4 percent from the same period a year ago. Same-store sales, or sales in stores open at least one year, is a key retail metric because it measures growth from existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Shares of Gymboree fell 67 cents to close at $43.77.