• Chain Store Age, Thursday, February 16, 2012 10:12 AM

Margin squeeze and flagging same-store sales hurt Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s fourth quarter profit, which dropped nearly 80% to $19.6 million from $92.6 million a year earlier.

"Our results for the fourth quarter were below our expectations in an extremely challenging environment,” said Mike Jeffries, CEO and chairman, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. “However, we are confident that we are on track with our long-term strategy of leveraging the international appeal of our iconic brands to build a highly profitable, sustainable, global business.”

Sales for the period ended Jan. 29 rose 16% to $1.33 billion, from $1.15 billion. In the United States, sales increased 4% to $962.2 million.

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