Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch sharply advanced after the clothing retailer's fiscal second-quarter earnings and profit outlook came in above expectations even as sale-store sales remained under pressure.

The company on Wednesday posted adjusted earnings of $4.17 a share in the quarter ended Aug. 2, up from $2.32 a year ago and well above Wall Street's expectation for $1.99. Net sales grew 5% to $1.27 billion, just beating the analyst consensus call for $1.25 billion, according to FactSet.

Comparable sales were flat from a year ago but slightly accelerated from a 1% decline in the fiscal first quarter. Wall Street was looking for a 0.8% increase.

Abercrombie & Fitch expects fiscal third-quarter net income between $2.90 to $3.20 a share with net sales growing between 5% and 6%. Wall Street forecasts third-quarter earnings of $2.82 a share.

For the fiscal year, the company expects net sales to grow about 5% with net income between $13.10 to $13.60 a share. The new income guidance is above the analyst consensus prediction of $10.72 a share.

Abercrombie & Fitch previously forecast fiscal-year net income of $10.20 to $11 a share with net sales growing between 3% and 5%.

Abercrombie & Fitch stock rose 11% to $120.05 in premarket trading on Wednesday after ending Tuesday down 3% as many retailer stocks came under pressure. Shares were up 9.4% this month but have declined 13% this year as of the closing bell on Tuesday.