Ross Stores, Inc. announced that sales increased 19% to $811 million for the five weeks ended April 3, 2010, up from $682 million for the five weeks ended April 4, 2009. Comparable store sales for the month grew 14% on top of a 3% gain in the prior year period.
For the nine weeks ended April 3, 2010, sales totaled $1.365 billion, an 18% increase over the $1.158 billion in sales for the nine weeks ended April 4, 2009. Comparable store sales for the nine weeks ended April 3, 2010 grew 13% on top of a 2% gain last year.
Michael Balmuth, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are very pleased with our strong start to the year, with both sales and margins in February and March well ahead of our expectations. Our ability to deliver terrific name-brand bargains continues to resonate with our customers, driving healthy traffic to our stores and broad-based strength in both merchandise and geographic trends. Shoes, Home and Dresses were the best performing categories in March, while the Mid-Atlantic, Northwest and Southeast were the strongest regions.”
Mr. Balmuth continued, “Based on our quarter-to-date performance, we are raising our sales and earnings targets for the balance of the Spring season. We now project same store sales to grow 5% to 6% in April and 3% to 4% in the second quarter. Earnings per share for the 13 weeks ending May 1, 2010 now are forecast to be $1.14 to $1.16, up from our prior guidance of $.92 to $.95. For the second quarter ending July 31, 2010, earnings per share are projected to be $.95 to $.99, up 16% to 21% from the prior year, versus our earlier forecast for a low double digit percentage gain.”
For the fiscal year ending January 29, 2011, the Company now is forecasting earnings per share of $4.09 to $4.24, up 16% to 20% over last year. This updated range compares to its prior projection of $3.80 to $3.95.
