Abercrombie & Fitch's fourth-quarter profit of a single charge

New Albany, Ohio - Abercrombie & Fitch Company's fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell, part of the cost of the Lhure closed shops, but adjusted results topped analyst estimates.

The clothing retailer said Tuesday its net income fell 31 percent to $47.5 million, or 53 cents per share, for the period ended Jan. 30. That compares with a profit of $68.4 million, or 78 cents per share, a year ago.

Taking out a charge related to the Ruehl store closings and other items, profit was 91 cents per share. That beat the 87 cents-per-share estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. These estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Abercrombie's board approved the shutdown of its 29 Ruehl stores and related direct-to-consumer operations in June. The brand's closure was completed in the fourth quarter.

Sales slipped 5 percent to $936 million from $980.8 million, short of Wall Street's $953.7 million.

Abercrombie, based in New Albany, Ohio, has struggled with falling sales for two years as consumers have cut back during the recession and headed to lower-priced competitors like American Eagle and Aeropostale to stretch their dollar further.

The company is feeling more pressure among its U.S. shoppers, as domestic sales fell 12 percent, but international sales surged 86 percent.

Abercrombie plans to expand overseas this year and concentrate on boosting profitability domestically, CEO and Chairman Mike Jeffries said in a statement.

Sales at stores open at least a year dropped 13 percent in the quarter. This figure is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Abercrombie reported declines across all brands for sales at stores open at least a year. At Hollister, the key sales figure slipped 19 percent, while abercrombie kids posted an 11 percent decline. For its namesake stores, the key sales figure fell 8 percent.

Abercrombie's full-year profit sagged to $254,000, or break-even, from $272.3 million, or $3.05 per share, in the prior year.

Annual sales slid 16 percent to $2.93 billion.

Abercrombie said it plans to open in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Fukuoka, Japan in 2010 fiscal year to another one of its namesake stores. The company also expects to open the epic Hollister stores and 30 shopping malls in New York-based international Hollister stores.