American Eagle Outfitters, a retailer that specializes in clothes for teenagers, has a reason to smile as it performed very well during the quarter, posting a rise in the net profit despite a challenging period of financial crisis.

The earnings of the firm rose 81.3 per cent during the quarter to stand at 29 cents a share or $59.3 million as compared to 16 cents a share or $32.7 million in the corresponding period last year.

Company's sales for the financial year rose 7.3 percent and stood at $972 million as compared to $906 million in January 30, 2009. Higher sale pushed its gross profit margin to 39.9 percent in the fourth quarter which is 5.5 per cent points higher than a year earlier.

The Chief Executive of American eagle, James V. O'Donnell said that its Martin & Osa clothing chain would see closing of all 28 stores due to their unexpected performance. However, he told, the firm will make every effort to regain its market share through its core core American Eagle brands in 2010.

Meanwhile, shares of the South Side teen retailer surged 6.1 per cent to close at $18.20 on Wednesday.