US: Target Corp Q1 profits climb, ups FY guidance
By Michelle Russell | 16 May 2012
US retailer Target Corp. has raised its full-year earnings guidance after booking an increase in first-quarter profits, boosted by "better-than-expected" sales.
In the three months to the end of March, Target earned US$697m, a 1.2% increase on the prior-year period, it reported today (16 May).
Operating profits in the period amounted to $1.28bn, a 1.6% increase on last year, while sales rose 6.1% to $16.54bn.
Sales increased on the back of a 5.3% growth in comparable-store sales and the contribution from new stores, the retailer said.
"We're very pleased with our first quarter earnings, which benefited from better-than-expected sales," said president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.
"While our outlook for the remainder of 2012 reflects continued economic uncertainty, we are confident in our strategy, keenly focused on delivering an affordable and inspirational merchandise assortment to our guests and committed to making thoughtful investments in our US and Canadian business segments that we expect will reward our shareholders over time."
For the full year, Target raised its guidance by 5 cents and now expects adjusted EPS of $4.60 to $4.80.
Click here to view the full earnings release.
Sectors: Financials, Retail
Companies: Target Corp.
View next/previous articles
16 May 2012 -
16 May 2012 -
Currently reading -
US: Target Corp Q1 profits climb, ups FY guidance
16 May 2012 -
Related research
Target Corp. in Retailing (World )
In contrast to Walmart, which has shifted focus towards the hypermarket channel, Target remains committed to the mass merchandiser format. Target has bounced back from poor performance in 2009, posting positive same-store sales growth in 2010 and 201...
Target Corp in Retailing (World)
In contrast to rival Wal-Mart, which has shifted its focus towards hypermarkets, Target remains committed to the mass merchandiser format. However, to increase store traffic and improve competitiveness, the company is in the process of expanding its ...
Canada Food and Drink Report Q4 2012
Canadian consumers leveraged up during the global downturn in 2008-09, which helped to underpin consumption and the economy as a whole. Now, the debt overhang threatens to curb consumption growth. We are forecasting relatively weak real private consu...
There are currently no comments on this article
Be the first to comment on this article