J.C. Penney Co.’s fiscal first-quarter earnings rose almost 7 percent. For the quarter ended April 30, Penney reported a profit of $64 million,
or 28 cents a share, up from $60 million, or 25 cents a share, a year
earlier. Excluding pension-plan expenses, earnings from continuing
operations were down at 33 cents a share from 40 cents.
The company last
week boosted its earnings estimate to about 24 cents.
The company said sales edged up 0.4% to $3.94 billion as same-store sales grew 3.8%.
Gross margin fell to 40.5% from 41.4% amid free-shipping offers.
The company said it plans further streamlining moves aimed at
helping it reach its 2014 earnings target of $5 a share. Included in the
plans are a restructuring of its supply-chain operations. The company
recorded charges of $3 million in the latest quarter, with $12 million
planned in the current quarter.
For the year, Penney adjusted its earnings-per-share projection to a
range of $2.15 to $2.25 including share buybacks and restructuring
charges from its prior forecast of $2 to $2.10.
For the current quarter, the company expects per-share earnings of 20
cents to 24 cents, including about 6 cents in restructuring charges, on
total sales growth of 0.5% to 1.5%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
recently projected earnings of 22 cents a share and revenue growth of
2%.
