Ross Stores fiscal 1st-quarter profit climbs 47 percent on sales gains

Ross Stores 1Q profit rises on sales gain

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Ross Stores Inc. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit rose more than 55 percent on a gain in sales as shoppers continued to seek out more bargains.

The discount retail chain also boosted the bottom end of its fiscal-year guidance range, but its second-quarter guidance was slightly below analyst estimates.

The company earned $142.3 million, or $1.16 per share, for the period ended May 1. That’s up from $91.4 million, or 72 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 14.4 percent to $1.93 billion from $1.69 billion last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted earnings per share of $1.16 on revenue of $1.92 billion.

Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 10 percent in the quarter compared to the prior year. Revenue at stores open at least a year is considered a key retail performance indicator because it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

For the fiscal second quarter, the company expects revenue at stores open at least a year to grow between 3 percent and 4 percent, with earnings per share of 95 cents to 99 cents. In the same period last year the company earned 82 cents.

Analysts forecast income of $1 per share for the quarter ending in July.

For the full fiscal year, the company now expects earnings per share to range from $4.11 to $4.24, compared to earnings of $3.54 in the prior year. Previously the company forecast income of $4.09 to $4.24 per share.

Analysts expect the company to earn $4.21 for the year.

Shares of Ross rose 92 cents to $52.65 in afternoon trading.