Cincinnati, CA, February 3, 2006--Federated Department Stores reported a 1% increase in January same-store sales and increased its forecast for the fourth quarter.
While the company was slightly short of analysts' consensus sales estimates, its new fourth-quarter forecast encouraged investors. The First Call-derived estimate was for a 1.2% rise in January sales at stores open more than a year, a key industry measure.
Federated now expects fourth-quarter earnings to hit $2.60 to $2.65 a share, up from a range previously forecast at $2.25 to $2.35 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected earnings of $2.39 a share, on average.
The company said total net sales rose 83.1%, to $1.5 billion from last years $818 million. That included revenue from May Co. stores, which Federated acquired on Aug. 30.
The company added that fourth-quarter sales were $9.57 billion, above the average estimate of $9.31 billion. For the full year, the company expects to report sales of $22.39 billion, slightly below the First Call estimate of $22.48 billion.
Same-store sales for February are expected to decline by as much as 1.5%, the company said.
