J.C. Penney raises 1st quarter outlook after stronger spring sales

J.C. Penney boosts 1Q outlook

PLANO, Texas — Department store chain J.C. Penney Co. Inc. raised its first fiscal-quarter guidance on Thursday after sales were better than expected in February and March.

But Penney’s sales gains didn’t match the double-digit increases seen by some competitors such as Macy’s Inc., and shares fell.

The retailer said that it expects to earn between 20 cents and 24 cents per share for the three-month period. That’s up from its previous estimate of a profit between 16 cents and 20 cents per share.

J.C. Penney forecast sales to climb about 2 percent during the quarter. That compares to its previous estimate of “flat to slightly positive” sales.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect J.C. Penney to earn 21 cents per share with revenue of $3.90 billion — a less than one-percent increase.

During the same period last year, J.C. Penney earned 11 cents per share with revenue of $3.88 billion.

Earlier Thursday, the J.C. Penney told investors that its net sales climbed 5 percent in March to $1.53 billion, up from $1.46 billion during the same period the previous year.

For the first nine weeks of the company’s fiscal year, sales were up 3.4 percent to $2.71 billion, up from $2.62 billion.

J.C. Penney is based in Plano, Texas and has more than 1,100 department stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Its shares slipped 95 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $31.94 in morning trading Thursday.