Following the conclusion of trading on August 26, one of the world's leading lifestyle retailers of casual apparel, accessories and related consumer products, Guess Inc. (GES), confirmed that the company’s profits for the 2Q increased year-over-year, on the backs of higher revenues within the European markets than in previous quarters.

For the period, Guess recorded net income of $59.6M, or $0.64 per share, in contrast to the prior year’s 2Q earnings of $53.8M, or $0.56 per share, an increase in profits of nearly 11% year-over-year. Guess also managed to improve their operating profits, posting income of $91.1M, up more than 7% from last year’s tally of $85M.

Revenues advanced during the quarter as well, climbing from $515.2M a year ago to $522.4M, an increase year-over-year of 1.4%. Despite a jump in overall revenues, same store sales for the period plunged more than 10%, on a local currency basis, and nearly 13% on a U.S. Dollar basis.

Paul Marciano, CEO at Guess Inc. offered his opinion on the company’s performance, "We are extremely pleased with our second quarter financial performance. We increased both revenues and earnings over last year's results to record levels, which represents a significant achievement in today's challenging environment. The actions that we took to protect our margins and preserve our strong capital structure are clearly paying off."

In total, sales within the European markets jumped 20.6% during the quarter, advancing from $174.2M a year ago to $210.2M. The European segment also witnessed their operating margins increase from 23% last year to 24.9%.

Meanwhile, revenues generated from North American sales slipped more than 6%, from $242.4M to $227.5M. Additionally, the company’s operating margins decreased from 13.3% to 12.4%.

On average, analysts within the industry were looking for the specialty retailer to post quarterly earnings of $0.44 per share on total sales figures of $485.15M.

Through the first two quarters of the year, Guess managed to book net earnings of $92.1M, or $0.99 per share, compared to the same period a year ago in which the company posted earnings of $101.6M, or $1.07 per share, a year-over-year decrease in profits of more than 9%.

Overall revenues for the first half of the year tallied $963.6M, down more than 4% from the previous year’s totals of $1B.

Looking ahead to the upcoming 3Q, company officials are projecting that net earnings should come in within a range of $0.46 to $0.49 per share, with quarterly revenues totaling between $465M to $485M.

In the meantime, analysts are expecting earnings from Guess in the 3Q to be $0.49 per share on $479.7M in total revenues.

Marciano later commented on the company’s upcoming quarter, "It is difficult to predict when the global economy will ultimately recover. Our commitment to expand internationally remains a top priority, with Europe and Asia still representing the most significant opportunities."

On a side note, the company’s board approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share, up 25% from the previous quarter’s dividend. The dividend is payable on September 25 for those of record on September 9.

The company’s stock also received a boost from Randal Konik, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. Before trading began on August 27, Konik increased his price target on GES from $37 to $40 per share, while maintaining his “buy” rating on the stock.

Konik commented in a client note, "Looking past the third quarter we believe the company has the potential to show further earnings per share upside in the fourth quarter driven by easing sales and margin compares across North America and Europe and easier foreign currency exchange compares."

Prior to the company’s earnings announcement, shares of GES closed the August 26 session, up more than 2%, adding $0.75 to end the day at $32.15 per share. By the close of the following day’s trading, the company’s stock surged, gaining $3.47, or 10.8%, to end the session at $35.62 per share.

Over the course of a year, Guess shares have reached highs of $43 per share, while falling as low as $10.26 per share.