Market Share & Sales
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U.S. retailer Target 1.63% reported a stronger-than-expected jump in same-store sales and profits for the key fourth quarter, helped by its expanding online business, and forecast modest earnings growth in the current quarter.
Target said comparable sales at stores open longer than a year rose 3.8% in the November-January quarter. That beat its forecast, unveiled last month when it announced plans to pull out of the Canadian market, for a rise of 3%.
Adjusted earnings per share, which excludes items including a massive loss related to the Canada exit, came to $1.50 in the fourth quarter. That was above the $1.43 to $1.47 per share range forecast by the company last month.
The results suggest that Target has moved firmly past a damaging breach of consumer data that hurt sales during the holiday season in 2013 and prompted a change of management last year. The company is now focusing its resources on its U.S. business after the Canada exit, which triggered a pre-tax loss of $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter is the most important for retailers due to the boost in demand for Christmas.
On an earnings call Wednesday, chief financial officer John Mulligan said the retailer will disclose plans for investments and cost-cuts to fund them at an analyst meeting next week.