Guess annual sales lift despite: On Wednesday, U.S. fashion house Guess Inc. revealed a 9% quarterly revenue increase to $891.1 million, and a single-digit annual sales increase.

For the quarter ending February 3, the Los Angeles-based corporation reported a 9% gain in Europe revenues, while Asis revenues rose 18%. A 1% decline in retail comparable sales (including e-commerce) weighed on the 1% gain in U.S. retail revenues. The wholesale revenue in the US climbed by 44% and the license revenue by 15%.

Total revenues for the fiscal year increased by 3% to $2.78 billion, driven by 7% growth in Europe and 16% growth in Asia. This was somewhat offset by losses in retail and wholesale revenues in the US.

“We are ecstatic about our fourth quarter results, which surpassed our projections for revenues, operational earnings, and earnings per share. This concludes an exceptional year for our Company,” expressed Carlos Alberini, CEO of Guess Inc.

We increased quarterly sales by 9% and annual sales by 3%. We increased EPS to $3.14 from $3.09 under GAAP and 15% under adjusted. Thanks to our methodical approach to running the company, we were able to generate $330 million in operational cash flow, $248 million in free cash flow, and $360 million in cash at the end of the year, which was far more than we had anticipated. In keeping with our promise to return cash to shareholders directly, we are delighted to announce that our board has announced a special dividend of $2.25 per share, to be paid in May, in response to this exceptional performance.

Guess and WHP Global, a worldwide leader in brand management, revealed last month that they had reached a deal to acquire Rag & Bone, a fashion company based in New York.

Our goals for the upcoming fiscal year are something we are very thrilled about. Albertini concluded, “We believe we are at an inflection point. We expect to exceed $3 billion in revenues for the first time in our company’s history with a solid growth plan for our core business, the integration of Rag & Bone into our portfolio and the launch of Guess Jeans to capture the demand from Generation Z consumers.” Albertini summed up the company’s future plans.

“We have a strong and diverse business model, fantastic products that are selling, a solid capital structure, a fantastic team that is prepared to achieve our goals, and we are in a great position to succeed.”