=The Children's Place (PLCE) reported earnings on Thur 11/17/16 (b/o)

The Children's Place beats by $0.27, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus; Q3 comps +4.6% :

• Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $2.29 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.27 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.02; revenues rose 3.9% year/year to $473.8 mln vs the $461.98 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Comparable retail sales increased 4.6%.
• Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.43-1.48, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.39 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. The Company expects no impact on adjusted net income per diluted share in the quarter from currency exchange rate fluctuations
• Comps were positive in all three months and accelerated as the quarter progressed. Inventory decreased 0.6%. Gross profit was $483.7 mln in the first nine months of fiscal 2016, compared to $447.6 mln last year.
• Adjusted gross profit was $483.6 mln, or 38.2% of net sales, leveraging 170 basis points compared to last year. The Company closed 5 stores and opened 2 stores during the third quarter of 2016. The Company ended the third quarter with 1,061 stores and square footage of 4.961 mln, a decrease of 2.0% compared to the prior year.