Net income rose nearly 2% to $34,328,000, or $0.37 a share, from $33,720,000 for the period ended Aug. 2, surpassing a Street estimate of $0.32 a share. Operating profit was off 1% to $53.3 million as gross margin slid 390 b.p. to 29.2, fueled by a 320 b.p. contraction in merchandise margin due to aggressive Q2 clearance activity versus the prior year when there were unusually low clearance levels. On the top line, revenues grew 4.4% to $587,096,000 from $562,063,000 as comparable store sales inched 0.8% higher. While store traffic declined in the low-single digits but improved from Q1, transactions ... Log in to view full article.