Autocross Blogs - Chrls Iicey

Competition and consumer debt levels hurt profits at low-end retailers during the first quarter, while upscale retailers posted big earnings gains.Wal-Mart Stores Inc., citing heavy consumer debt that Tiffany Key for sale spending, said net income for the quarter ended April 30 rose 3.3% from a year earlier, while J.C. Penney Co. said aggressive price cutting resulted in lower earnings for the period ended April 27 compared with a year earlier. Dillard Department Stores Inc. fared much better, reporting a 17% profit increase for the quarter ended May 4.Meanwhile, TJX Cos., an off-price apparel retailer based in Framingham, Mass., said profit more than tripled for the period ended April 27, and New York specialty retailer Tiffany & Co. said net income more than doubled.Jeffrey Edelman, analyst at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, said higher-end chains, especially department stores, in general are outperforming discounters, where sales of seasonal merchandise have been disappointing. "Better" department stores are also benefiting from shoppers' renewed interest in fashion, especially on the women's side of the business, he said.Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., said net income rose to $571 million, or 25 cents a share, from $553 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 11% to $22.8 billion.The discount chain said it is "comfortable" with analysts' earnings projections ranging from $1.36 to $1.40 a share for the year and 30 cents a share for the current quarter ending July 31, said Jay Fitzsimmons, senior vice president. In the year-earlier periods, Wal-Mart posted per-share earnings of $1.19 for the year and 28 cents for the Tiffany Money Clip for sale.In the first quarter, sales gains were "at the low end" of Wal-Mart's expectations, suggesting that many lower- and middle-income consumers "still appear to be reluctant to spend discretionary income," said Mr. Fitzsimmons. At WalMart's discount stores and supercenters, operating profit rose 6% to $1.1 billion, bolstered by a 30% gain at supercenters open more than a year, he said.

At the Sam's warehouse-club unit, operating profit rose 8% to $180 million. Though international sales jumped 48% to $997 million, the cost of opening seven stores in Canada and Mexico contributed to the division's wider loss of $16 million, compared with $10 million a year earlier. International stores, however, are expected to turn a profit for the full year, said Mr. Fitzsimmons.Dallas-based J.C. Penney said net fell 9% to $142 million, or 57 cents a fully diluted share. Retail sales rose 1.9% to $4.45 billion. Analysts and the chain have cited tough competition from Sears, Roebuck & Co.At Tiffany Necklace for sale, Little Rock, Ark., profit rose to $56.4 million, or 50 cents a share. Sales rose 9.5% to $1.45 billion, while same-store sales increased 6%.TJX reported net of $30.1 million, or 33 cents a share, up from earnings from continuing operations of $9.5 million, or 11 cents a share. The company, which acquired Marshalls from Melville Corp. last November, said sales climbed 93% to $1.6 billion, while same-store sales on a combined basis increased 6%. TJX said its T.J. Maxx and Marshalls units had higher-than-anticipated net and improved margins. In New York Stock Exchange composite trading, TJX shares rose $1.625 to $33.625.Tiffany said earnings rose to $5.1 million, or 30 cents a share. Sales at the luxury jewelry retailer rose 20% to $180.7 million. Domestic same-store sales jumped 20%, while same-store sales in Japan rose 16%. On the Big Board, its shares soared $7.125, or 11%, to $74.50.

Tiffany & Co. said fourth-quarter net income rose 32% on strong growth in U.S. and international retail sales. The jeweler and specialty retailer said net income for the quarter ended Jan. 31 was $25.5 million, or $1.55 a share, compared with $19.3 million, or $1.21 a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 17% to $280.7 million from $239.3 million. The results were slightly ahead of analysts' consensus expectation of $1.52 a share, according to a First Call survey. The New York company said the results were led by a 20% increase in U.S. retail sales and a 19% increase in international retail sales. Fourth-quarter comparable-store sales were up 11% in the U.S. and 18% in Japan, Tiffany's largest overseas market. Comparable-store sales are sales at stores open at least a year.Tiffany & Co., New York, said third-quarter net income rose 33%, reflecting strength of the company's new stores and boutiques in the U.S. and international markets. The jewelry and specialty retailer said earnings for the quarter ended Oct. 31 rose to $6.3 million, or 39 cents a share, from $4.7 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 17% to $187.8 million from $160 million, buoyed by a 14% increase in U.S. sales and an 11% rise in sales in Japan. The Tiffany Note for sale exceeded the mean estimate of 36 cents a share from analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research Inc. In composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Tiffany closed at $48 a share, up $2.25, or 4.9%. For the nine months, net income rose 37% to $13.7 million, or 86 cents a share, from $10 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 18% to $522.6 million from $443.6 million.WHEN WE last visited jeweler Tiffany & Co. (Nov. 11, 1991), the country was in a recession, diamond shopping was the furthest thing from consumers' minds and earnings were on the decline. Has the shine returned? Brighter than expected, thanks to some shrewd marketing. Chief Executive William Chaney has downplayed Tiffany's upper-crust image and focused on luring a relatively downscale crowd. That includes putting out "how-to" diamond and pearl buying guides and advertisements to inform the wary that Tiffany diamonds start below $1,000.