Macy's 4th-quarter profit climbs on strong holiday spending and surging online sales

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Macy's Inc. said strong holiday and online sales helped push its fiscal fourth-quarter net income up 12 per cent. The department store chain's results topped Wall Street's expectations and its stock climbed.

Macy's, which runs Bloomingdale's and its namesake stores, is reaping the benefit of tailoring merchandise to local markets. It has been outperforming mid-price peers such as Kohl's Inc. and J.C. Penney Co.

"Our year was punctuated with a terrific holiday selling season as our customers responded to our assortment of most-wanted merchandise for gifts and self-purchase, as well as compelling marketing campaigns," Chairman, President and CEO Terry Lundgren said in a statement Tuesday.

Macy's stock added $1.19, or 3.3 per cent, to $37.44.

Macy's earned $745 million, or $1.74 per share, for the period ended Jan 28. A year ago it earned $667 million, or $1.55 per share.

Excluding gains from the sale of store leases related to the 2006 sale of Lord & Taylor and expenses tied to some store closings, earnings were $1.70 per share.

Revenue rose 5.5 per cent to $8.72 billion from $8.27 billion. Online sales, which include results from both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's websites, jumped 40 per cent.

Revenue at stores open at least a year, which includes online sales, climbed 5.2 per cent. This figure is a key indicator of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

The quarterly results topped the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet, who predicted earnings of $1.65 per share on revenue of $8.7 billion.

For the year, Macy's earned $1.26 billion, or $2.92 per share. That compares with earnings of $847 million, or $1.98 per share, in the previous year. Adjusted earnings were $2.88 per share.

Full-year revenue increased 5.6 per cent to $26.41 billion from $25 billion. Online sales rose nearly 40 per cent.

Revenue at stores open at least a year increased 5.3 per cent.

The company, which has corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, expects fiscal 2012 earnings of $3.25 to $3.30 per share. Wall Street predicts $3.27 per share.

Macy's also anticipates its online sales will surpass $2 billion in 2012 and that revenue at stores open at least a year will climb about 3.5 per cent.

Macy's has about 840 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico