Ross Stores Profit Rises 13%
November 17 2016 - 4:44PM
Dow Jones News
By Tess Stynes
Ross Stores Inc. said its earnings rose 13% in the three months
ended October as the off-price retailer benefited from
better-than-expected revenue growth and stronger margins.
Shares rose 3.5% to $67.85 in recent after-hours trading as the
results beat expectations and the company raised its annual
guidance.
For the year ending in January, Ross Stores projected per-share
earnings of $2.78 to $2.81, compared with its previous estimate for
per-share profit of $2.69 to $2.75.
For the holiday quarter, the company forecast per-share earnings
of 72 cents to 75 cents, mostly below estimates of analysts polled
by Thomson Reuters for per-share profit of 75 cents.
Off-price retailers such as Ross Stores and TJX Cos. -- parent
of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls -- have been faring better than
department stores as consumers have remained price-conscious.
For the period ended Oct. 29, Ross Stores' comparable sales --
or sales at stores open more than 14 months -- rose 7%.
In all, Ross Stores reported a profit of $244.5 million, or 62
cents a share, up from $215.7 million, or 53 cents a share, a year
earlier. The company expected per-share profit of 52 cents to 55
cents.
Revenue increased 11% to $3.09 billion. Analysts expected
revenue of $2.96 billion, according to FactSet.
Operating margin rose 0.55 percentage point to 12.6%, mostly on
stronger merchandise margins.
On Tuesday, rival TJX Cos. and other off-price chains, reported
better-than-expected results for the three months ended in October,
though the company's guidance for the holiday quarter fell short of
expectations.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 17, 2016 17:29 ET (22:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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