Abercrombie & Fitch June sales beat expectations

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF.N) on Thursday reported a 2 percent increase in June sales at stores open at least a year, rather than the decline analysts were expecting, and its stock rose 6 percent.

Analysts on average had forecast a drop of 3.2 percent in same-store sales, according to Reuters research.

The New Albany, Ohio-based company, which owns the Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and RUEHL chains, said net sales for the five weeks ended on July 7 rose 21 percent to $293.2 million from a year earlier.

Overall, tops sold well, offsetting a decline in sales of bottoms, the retailer said.

Same-store sales rose 2 percent at the Abercrombie & Fitch chain, helped by a 7 percent increase in the average transaction. The abercrombie children's chain had a 6 percent same-store sales increase and Hollister showed a 2 percent rise, the company said. RUEHL same-store sales were flat.

Abercrombie shares traded at $73.55 in premarket electronic trading, up from Wednesday's New York Stock Exchange close of

$69.38.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman)