American Eagle Income Plunges

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. posted net income of $43.9 million for the first quarter, a 40% decrease of more than 40% compared with the same period last year.

The retailer reported sales of $640.3 million for the quarter ended May 3, a 5% increase over the prior year.

But the Pittsburgh company posted a 29% sales increase for AEO Direct, its direct business that includes ae.com, aerie.com and martinandosa.com for the quarter which it attributed partly to increases in both traffic and conversion.

The firm posted gross profit of $263.7 million, or 41.2% as a rate to sales for the quarter, compared to $298.5 million, or 48.7% as a rate to sales last year.