TJX emphasized sales and store growth potential near and longer term as it posted a billion-dollar second quarter and a Wall Street beat.
Net income was $1.1 billion, or 96 cents per diluted share, versus $989 million, or 85 cents per diluted share, in the year-before quarter.
A Yahoo Finance-published analyst consensus estimate was for earnings of 92 cents per diluted share and revenue of 13.31 billion
Comparable sales advanced 4% for the company in the quarter year over year, the company maintained. Against the year-earlier period, Marmaxx, including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, recorded a 5% comps gain; HomeGoods posted a 2% increase in comps; TJX Canada had a 2% comps gain; and TJX International registered a 1% comps increase.
Net sales were $13.47 billion versus 12.76 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
In a conference call, Ernie Herrman, TJX president and CEO, said the company sees space for growth in the United States and in international markets, including Mexico and Dubai, where the company has taken a 35% ownership stake in privately held off-pricer Brands for Less. Herrman also said the company has the growth potential to reach almost 6,300 stores in existing markets. TJX reported it believes consumers will focus on value in the year’s second half, which should put the company in a solid position for the holidays. Herrman said the company has successfully positioned itself as a year-round gifting destination, which should be another positive as the holidays roll around.
“Our comparable store sales increase of 4%, pretax profit margin, and earnings per share all exceeded our plans,” Herman said. “Our teams sharply executed on our mission to deliver great value to consumers every day. Our overall comp sales growth was entirely driven by customer transactions, which increased at every division. The performance of Marmaxx, our largest division, was outstanding, with a comp sales increase of 5%.
“With our strong second quarter results, we are raising our full-year guidance for both pretax profit margin and earnings per share,” Herman continued. “The third quarter is off to a strong start. We see excellent buying opportunities in the marketplace and are strongly positioned to ship fresh and compelling merchandise to our stores and online throughout the fall and holiday selling season. We marked a milestone for our company in the second quarter by opening our 5,000th store. Longer term, we are excited about our potential to capture additional market share in all of our geographies and to continue our global growth, while delivering great value to more consumers around the world and driving the profitability of TJX.”
