(Bloomberg) -- Under Armour Inc. raised its outlook for full-year earnings, with cost cuts in its turnaround effort making up for a continued decline in revenue.

The athletic-wear maker said Thursday it expects adjusted earnings of 50 cents to 52 cents a share for the year ending in March. Analysts had expected 49 cents, according to estimates tallied by Bloomberg.

The Baltimore-based company has worked to get rid of excess inventory over the past several quarters as the industry dealt with a longstanding pileup of merchandise. Inventories fell 9% in the third quarter to $1.1 billion, more than analysts had predicted.

Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Linnartz has embarked on a new three-year strategic plan to prioritize categories like womenswear and footwear since she took the job last year. She has also overhauled senior management, adding new heads of product and branding.

An early challenge for Linnartz is to lead a turnaround in her home market. Revenue declined 6% to $1.5 billion for the quarter, dragged down by a 12% drop in North America. That was partially offset by strength abroad, with global revenue up across Asia-Pacific, the Europe, Mideast and Africa region and Latin America.

“With respect to driving US sales, this remains a multiyear journey and candidly, we have much more work to do to become a healthier business capable of returning to growth in our largest market,” Linnartz said on a conference call with analysts.

Shares rose 1.3% at 9:47 a.m. on Thursday in New York. The stock had been down 12% this year through Wednesday’s close. 

With the inventory levels getting cleaned up, Under Armour’s comeback now lies in management’s hands, Simeon Siegel, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note to clients.

“We continue to believe brand re-elevation can be a self-help lever for improvement,” said Siegel.

(Updates shares, adds analyst comment and conference call details in fifth and sixth paragraphs.)

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