Los Angeles-based apparel retailer Guess’s net revenues increased 57.7 per cent to $628.6 million during the second quarter of the current financial year as improved margins boosted year-over-year revenue gains. Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, had led to retailer’s sales declining to $398.5 million last year. Compared to the same period two years ago, when the company generated $683.2 million in revenue, sales decreased 8.0 per cent.

In last year’s second quarter, the retailer recorded a net loss of $20.4 million, or a diluted loss per share of $0.31. Operating margin for the quarter was negative 3.6 per cent compared to $1.22 billion in the same period two years ago. The company’s net earnings for the first half of the fiscal year came to $73.1 million, or $1.10 per diluted share. This compares to a loss of $178.0 million, or $2.72 per diluted share, in the previous year’s first half, and earnings of $3.9 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, the year before. At the end of second quarter, Guess directly operated 1,046 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia, with a further 551 locations being run through the company’s global partners and distributers.