Ross Stores, Inc. reported that sales increased 10 percent to $661 million for the four weeks ended Oct. 29, 2011, up from $600 million in the year-ago period. Comparable store sales for the month grew 5 percent over the prior year.
For the quarter ended October 29, 2011, sales were $2.046 billion, a 9 percent increase over the $1.874 billion in sales for the quarter ended October 30, 2010. Same store sales for the third quarter were up 5 percent.
For the nine months ended October 29, 2011, sales totaled $6.210 billion, a 9 percent increase over the $5.721 billion in sales for the nine months ended October 30, 2010. Comparable store sales for the nine months ended October 29, 2011 grew 5 percent on top of a 6 percent gain in 2010.
Michael Balmuth, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased that October same store sales were ahead of our expectations for a 1% to 2% increase. Our performance for both the month and the quarter benefited from our ongoing ability to deliver terrific name brand bargains for the family and the home to today's increasingly value-focused consumers. Juniors and Shoes were the strongest merchandise categories in October, while Florida remained the best-performing market.”
Balmuth continued, “We now estimate earnings per share for the 13 weeks ended October 29, 2011 will increase 23% to 24%, to $1.25 to $1.26, from last year's $1.02 per share. The anticipated upside from our prior earnings per share guidance of $1.16 to $1.18 is due mainly to better-than-expected sales and margin performance in October. Earnings per share for the 52 weeks ending January 28, 2012 are now projected to be in the range of $5.54 to $5.61, up 20% to 21% over $4.63 in 2010.”
