(Reuters) - Kohl's Corp (KSS.N) maintained its full-year profit and operating margin forecasts even as it missed quarterly sales estimates on Wednesday, sending the department store chain's shares up 12.87% in premarket trading.
The company is attempting a turnaround after Chief Executive Officer Tom Kingsbury took the helm in February.
Kohl's said its first-quarter gross margin grew by 67 basis points, as the company worked to manage its inventory, bringing it down by 6% during the quarter.
It maintained its fiscal 2023 earnings per share in the range of $2.10 to $2.70, and its operating margin at about 4%.
Comparable sales at the company decreased 4.3% in the first quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 3.9% fall, according to Refinitiv IBES data.