Chico's net income rises

FORT MYERS — Chico's FAS reported net income rose to $53.6 million in the quarter ending April 28, a 17% increase over the $45.9 million it earned in the same quarter in 2011.

The women's retailer says net sales rose 21% in the first quarter to $650.8 million from $537.2 million in the same quarter one year ago. Sales got a boost from an 8% increase in square feet from new stores and $33.7 million in sales at newly acquired brand Boston Proper. Net sales rose 9.6% at stores open for at least one year.

While selling, general and administrative expenses rose 19.1% in the first quarter, Chico's says that expenses as a percentage of net sales fell 0.7 percentage points.

For fiscal 2012, Chico's expects net sales to reach $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion, which reflects stores open longer than a year growing a mid-single-digit percentage rates and a 9% growth in store square footage.

Fort Myers-based Chico's operates 1,294 stores across the U.S. under brands that include Chico's, White House | Black Market and Soma Intimates. It also operates the online brand Boston Proper, which it acquired last year.

The company's stock is publicly traded (symbol: CHS; recent price: $14.66).