People wear face masks as they walk through Herald Square on January 8, 2021 in New York City.
Angela Weiss | AFP | fake images
Macy’s reported its first quarterly profit in a year on Tuesday, as its efforts to reduce inventories during the holiday quarter and rely less on deep discounts paid off.
The company said it expects 2021 to be a year of “recovery and rebuilding” as it recovers from losses suffered during the pandemic. It offered a profit and sales outlook that it said considers continued pandemic-related hurdles through the spring, and momentum increased in the second half of 2021.
Macy’s stock rose more than 1% in premarket trading.
Here’s how the company did during the fourth quarter ending January 30, compared to what analysts expected, according to a Refinitiv survey:
- Earnings per share: 80 cents, adjusted, vs. 12 cents, expected
- Revenue: $ 6.78 billion vs. $ 6.5 billion, expected
Net income for the quarter ended January 30 fell to $ 160 million, or 50 cents a share, from $ 340 million, or $ 1.09 a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges, the company earned 80 cents a share, better than the 12 cents analysts had expected.
Sales fell to $ 6.78 billion from $ 8.34 billion a year ago. That was better than the $ 6.5 billion analysts expected.
Macy’s said its same-store sales, owned and licensed, fell 17.1% from 2019 levels. Analysts were calling for a 21.3% drop, according to Refinitiv data.
Ecommerce sales increased 21% in the latest period.
Macy’s said it expects its annual online sales to eclipse $ 10 billion in the next three years.
CEO Jeff Gennette commented that the company saw the greatest strength in home, beauty, jewelry and watches during the quarter.
Heading into fiscal 2021, Macy’s is calling for sales to fall within a range of $ 19.75 billion to $ 20.75 billion. Analysts had been asking for annual revenue of $ 20.13 billion.
Expect adjusted earnings per share to fall within a range of 40 cents to 90 cents. Analysts had forecast adjusted earnings of 77 cents a share.
Read the full press release and Macy’s materials here.
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