Men's Wearhouse Q3 beats Street, shares rise

Men's Wearhouse Inc's (MW.N) quarterly profit topped analysts' expectations as people continued to buy its suits and tuxedos even at increased prices.

The apparel retailer, which rents out one in every three tuxedos in the United States and Canada, also raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast.

Shares of the company rose 7 percent in extended trading.

* Men's Wearhouse, which competes with JoS A Bank Clothiers Inc (JOSB.O) and Perry Ellis International Inc (PERY.O), saw third-quarter gross margins increase 315 basis points to 14.1 percent.

* For the current quarter, the company expects an adjusted loss per share of 15-12 cents, compared with analysts expectations of loss of 11 cents a share.

* The company expects adjusted earnings of $2.28-$2.31 per share from its earlier adj EPS forecast of $2.13-$2.20 per share. Analysts, on average had expected it to earn $2.19 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

MARKET REACTION / COMMENTARY:

* Shares of the Houston, Texas-based company were up at $29.20 on Tuesday in after-hours trading. They had closed at $27.19 on the New York Stock Exchange.

BACKGROUND / LINKS:

* Founded in 1973, Men's Wearhouse sells men's designer, branded and private-label tuxedos, sportswear and accessories through more than 1,170 stores in North America.

* Last week, rival JoS A Bank warned of a slow start to its holiday quarter as same-store sales slipped in November.

(Reporting by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)