Fashion specialty retailer Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) said its third quarter profit increased 17% from last year, due to higher sales as consumers started spending, as the economy seem to move toward recovery. Quarterly earnings, however, failed to meet the Street consensus by a penny. Looking ahead, the company raised its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2009.
The Seattle, Washington-based company posted net earnings of $83 million or $0.38 per share for the third quarter, up from $71 million or $0.33 per share in the prior year quarter. On average, 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.39 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Total revenues for the quarter grew 4% to $1.96 billion from $1.88 billion in the previous year quarter.
Third quarter net sales increased 3.5% to $1.87 billion from $1.81 billion in the same quarter last year.
Fourteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.87 billion for the third quarter.
Same-store sales decreased 1.2% over a year ago. Full-line same-store sales in the third quarter decreased 4.2%, while sales for Nordstrom Direct increased 16.4% over a year earlier.
Nordstrom said the Mid-Atlantic and the South regions were the top-performing geographic areas for full-line stores relative to the third quarter of 2008, while the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions achieved the largest sequential improvements over the second quarter of 2009.
Nordstrom Rack posted a 3% growth in same-store sales for the latest quarter, the third consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales results.
As a percentage of net sales, gross profit improved by about 90 basis points from the previous year quarter.
For the nine-month period of 2009, Nordstrom reported net earnings of $269 million or $1.23 per share, down from $333 million or $1.52 per share in the previous year period.
Net sales for the period declined to $5.72 billion from $5.97 billion, while total revenues dropped to $6.00 billion from $6.19 billion in the prior year period.
Looking ahead to fiscal year 2009, Nordstrom raised its earnings outlook to a range of $1.83 to $1.88 per share from its prior estimate of $1.50 to $1.65 per share. The Street currently estimates the company to report earnings of $1.81 per share for the year.
Same-store sales for 2009 are estimated to decrease in the range of 6% to 7%, compared to earlier forecast of a 9% to 12% drop.
The company expects to open 3 full-line stores and approximately 15 Nordstrom Rack stores in 2010. In 2011, the company expects to open 2-3 full-line stores and 13-15 Nordstrom Rack stores.
Nordstrom's capital expenditures, net of property incentives, are expected to total between $325 and $375 million in fiscal year 2010, up from $280 million in fiscal year 2009.
Among others in the industry, Saks Inc. (SKS) is slated to report third quarter results on November 17. Analysts project a loss of $0.12 per share on revenue of $621.96 million for the third quarter.
Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS) will report third quarter results on November 18. The Street expects Chico's to earn $0.07 per share on revenue of $414.71 million for the third quarter.
Nordstrom closed Thursday's regular trading session at $34.51, down 35 cents or 1.00%, on a volume of 5.57 million shares. In after-hours, the shares further lost $1.81 or 5.24%.
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