The TJX Companies Q4 net sales rise 15 percent

TJX, apparel and home fashions retailer in the U.S. and

worldwide reported its sales and earnings results for the fiscal year and fourth quarter ended February 2, 2013 said that its net sales for the 53-week fiscal full year were 25.9 billion dollars, a 12percent increase over last year. Consolidated comparable store sales for the year on a 52-week basis increased 7 percent over the prior year’s 4 percent increase. Net income for the 53-week fiscal year was 1.9 billion dollars and diluted earnings per share were 2.55 dollars compared to 1.93 dollars last year. Diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year increased 28 percent over the adjusted 1.99 dollars last year.

For the 14-week fourth quarter ended February 2, 2013, net sales were 7.7 billion dollars, a 15 percent increase over the prior year. Consolidated comparable store sales for the quarter on a 13-week basis increased 4 percent over the prior year’s 7 percent increase. Net income for the 14-week fourth quarter was 605 million dollars and diluted earnings per share were 0.82 dollar, a 32 percent increase over last year’s 0.62 dollar.

Carol Meyrowitz, Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies said, “The year 2012 was another great year for TJX on top of many great years. We achieved adjusted EPS growth of 28 percent on sales of nearly 26 billion dollars and consolidated comp store sales growth of 7 percent, marking the fourth consecutive year of very strong sales and double-digit EPS increases. Customer traffic was up across all of our divisions as our off-price shopping experience continued to resonate with customers, even with the growth in online shopping in the retail industry.”

Meyrowitz further added saying, “We are well on the road to being a 40 billion dollars-plus company. In Fiscal 2014, we plan to continue to make investments to support our growth while returning excess cash to shareholders. Our capital spending plan includes investments in our supply chain and infrastructure, new stores, store remodels and e-commerce initiatives. Simultaneously, we plan to continue our large share buyback program, with 1.3 billion dollars to 1.4 billion dollars of repurchases planned for Fiscal 2014, and to significantly increase our regular quarterly dividend. All of this underscores our confidence in our ability to continue to deliver significant increases in sales, earnings, and cash flow, and generate superior financial returns.”

The Company also announced that beginning with the Fiscal 2014 second quarter, it will no longer report monthly sales, consistent with the retail industry trend. The Company will continue its current practices through the end of the Fiscal 2014 first quarter, reporting sales for February, March and April, and move to a quarterly reporting schedule thereafter.

For the fiscal year ending February 1, 2014, the Company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of 2.66 dollars to 2.78 dollars versus 2.55 dollars in Fiscal 2013. Excluding the approximately 0.08 dollar benefit from the 53rd week in the Company’s Fiscal 2013 calendar, this guidance would represent an 8 percent to 13 percent increase over the adjusted 2.47 dollars in Fiscal 2013. This outlook is based upon estimated consolidated comparable store sales growth of 1 percent to 2 percent.

For the first quarter of Fiscal 2014, the Company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of 0.59 to 0.62 dollar, which would represent a 7 percent to 13 percent increase over last year’s 0.55 dollar per share. This outlook is based upon estimated consolidated comparable store sales growth of 0 percent to 2 percent.