JC Penney same-store sales up 6.2 percent

REPORT_ JC Penney company for the first quarter reported net sales of 2.80 billion dollars compared to 2.64

billion dollars in the first quarter of 2013. Same store sales increased 6.2 percent and improved sequentially each month within the quarter.

According to Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, Chief Executive Officer, “We are very pleased to report that JC Penney delivered its second consecutive quarter of comparable store sales growth, as well as continued gross margin improvement. It is clear that our efforts to re-merchandise many areas of the store and revamp our messaging to the customer are taking hold.”

Plano, Texas headquartered company said that, going forward, it will simplify its same store sales calculation to better reflect year-over-year comparability. Certain items, such as sales return estimates and liquidation sales, will now be excluded from the company's same store sales calculation. Under this new methodology, comparable store sales in the first quarter rose 7.4 percent, which includes online sales that grew 25.7 percent over the same period last year. For the full year, the company expects the new sales reporting methodology to have a 10 to 20 basis point impact.

Women's and men's apparel, home, and fine jewelry were the company's top performing merchandise divisions in the quarter. Sephora inside JC Penney also continued its strong performance. Geographically, all regions delivered sales gains over the same period last year with the best performance in the western and central regions of the country.

For the first quarter, gross margin was 33.1 percent of sales, compared to 30.8 percent in the same quarter last year, representing a 230 basis point improvement. Operating income for the quarter was a loss of 247 million dollars which represents a 49.2 percent improvement over last year. For the first quarter, the company incurred a net loss of 352 million dollars or (1.15 dollars) per share.

In the second quarter of 2014, the company expects comparable store sales to increase mid-single digits; with gross margin is expected to improve sequentially versus first quarter of 2014. For the full-year, company expects comparable store sales to rise mid-single digits and gross margin is expected to improve significantly versus 2013.