J. Crew Still Sitting Pretty

Updated from 4:44 p.m. EDT

The broad consumer slowdown isn't fraying J. CrewJCG.

The preppy-apparel retailer on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter results that topped Wall Street's targets, and also offered gave a rosier-than-expected guidance for the coming year.

The San Francisco-based company reported earnings of $25 million, or 39 cents a share, down from $44 million, or 71 cents a share, a year earlier, when results included a $10.6 million tax gain. Before taxes, J. Crew's income rose 24% year over year.

The latest quarter's earnings included 2 cents a share in severance-related costs. Excluding the charge, earnings of 41 cents a share beat analysts' average estimate of 39 cents, according to Thomson Financial.

Revenue climbed to $399.9 million from $366.7 million the prior year. The year-ago results benefitted from an extra week in sales during the quarter.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year were flat. But taking out last year's extra week, same-store sales jumped 4%.

That marks a slowdown from the company's same-store sales rise of 7% in the prior year fourth quarter, as well as its growth of 6% for the full year ended Feb. 2. The slowdown comes in a quarter that was difficult for retailers, with many clothing sellers taking big markdowns to move products in the holiday season as shoppers reined in spending.

J. Crew, however, managed to increase its margins in the period. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue climbed to 41.3% from 40.8% a year earlier.

For the new fiscal year, J. Crew forecast earnings of $1.85 to $1.87 a share, above Thomson Financial's current analyst estimate of $1.83. In the recently ended year, earnings were $1.54 a share excluding one-time items.

The company anticipates fiscal-year same-store sales growth in the mid-single digit range.

Shares of J. Crew surged $2.60, or 6.5%, to $42.60 Tuesday ahead of its post-market earnings release. The stock traded as low as $33.69 in November, and as high as $47.17 last June.

Know What You Own: J. Crew operates in the apparel services industry, and some of the other stocks in its field include Gap GPS, American Eagle Outfitters AEO, Abercrombie & Fitch ANF, Hot Topic HOTT and Pacific Sunwear of California PSUN. These stocks were recently trading at $19.92, $17.25, $75.45, $4.52 and $11.52, respectively. For more on the value of knowing what you own, visit TheStreet.com's Investing A-to-Z section.