Nordstrom 2Q Earnings Up More Than Expected

Seattle, WA, August 17, 2007--Nordstrom reported a slim fiscal second-quarter profit gain as expenses related to the company's credit card business cut into solid sales.

Earnings for the quarter rose to $180.4 million, or $0.71 per share, from $178.8 million, or $0.67 per share during the same period last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a profit of $0.69 per share.

Revenue rose 5% to $2.39 billion from $2.27 billion last year, just ahead of Wall Street's view for $2.38 billion in sales.

Nordstrom bucks the typically slow second-quarter for retailers by hosting two sales in stores across the country. In a conference call with analysts, executives said the June half-yearly sale and the July anniversary sale both boosted results for the quarter.

Same-store sales rose 5.9%, ahead of Nordstrom's expectations.

Results were hurt by higher expenses related to changes in the way the retailer accounts for its Visa credit card businesses. But Nordstrom officials also said in a conference call that they are noticing more people starting to fall behind on credit card payments compared to a year ago.