Nov 22 (Reuters) - Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF.N) on Tuesday posted a surprise third-quarter profit and forecast a smaller-than-expected drop in current-quarter sales as it remains "cautiously optimistic" for the holiday season.
The Ohio-based retailer's shares were up about 14% in premarket trading after the company also reported better-than-expected third-quarter sales even as inflation dampened discretionary consumer spending.
Abercrombie expects fourth-quarter net sales to fall about 2% to 4% in fiscal 2022, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 6.3% drop, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Excluding items, Abercrombie reported a profit of 1 cent per share in the third quarter, compared with estimates of a loss of 16 cents.
The company's net sales fell 2.8% to $880.1 million, but beat estimates of $831.1 million.