Finance & Capital Management

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The year appears to be off to a good start and CVS Caremark executives were optimistic Wednesday morning as the company pulled in a “strong” first quarter and narrowed its 2013 guidance to reflect higher-than-expected performance.

Columbia, S.C. -- Golfsmith International is opening its first South Carolina store, in the state capital of Columbia, with a grand opening celebration on May 3 to May 5.
   
The 23,500-sq.-ft. store is part of Golfsmith's aggressive growth strategy in the Carolinas. Adding to its current Raleigh location, the company recently expanded with new stores in Charlotte and Greensboro — with another new store opening in Myrtle Beach later this spring.

New York -- The Jones Group Inc. returned to a profit in the first quarter, but sales were hampered by unseasonably cool weather. The company said net income for the three months ended April 6, after paying preferred dividends, totaled $500,000. That compares with a loss of $1.2 million in the year-ago period.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2013 were almost $1.1 billion, up from $936 million for the same period last year. Jones Group CEO Wesley R. Card said that weather and other factors impacted the business both domestically and internationally.

NEW YORK — The Jones Group Inc. returned to a profit in the first quarter, but sales were hampered by unseasonably cool weather. The company said net income for the three months ended April 6, after paying preferred dividends, totaled $500,000. That compares with a loss of $1.2 million in the year-ago period.

GREENWICH, Conn. — Brynwood Partners’ portfolio company, Pearson Candy Company, has acquired the Bit-O-Honey confectionery brand from Nestle. The acquisition marks the fifth brand Brynwood Partners has acquired from Nestle. Terms and conditions of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Bit-O-Honey national brand has been around for more than 90 years and is available in a variety of formats, which are widely distributed in the U.S. through leading retailers in the food, drug, mass and dollar channels.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix posted first quarter sales of $7.5 billion, representing a 6.1% increase. The Easter holiday in the first quarter of 2013, which was in the second quarter of 2012, increased sales by approximately 1.3%, the grocer noted. 

Comparable-store sales for the first quarter of 2013 increased 3.9%.

Los Angeles -- Sport Chalet announced it has retained Financial Profiles as its investor relations firm.

"We have a number of important strategic initiatives in place to drive shareholder value and the time is right to step up our investor relations efforts," said Craig Levra, chairman and CFO of Sport Chalet. "We are pleased to collaborate with Financial Profiles to develop and implement a strategic investor relations program designed to build Sport Chalet's visibility within the investment community."

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Caremark Corp.’s first-quarter earnings rose a better-than-expected 23% as new generic drugs and demand for flu medications helped the company’s profitability. The chain narrowed its 2013 guidance to reflect higher-than-expected performance.

For the first quarter, CVS earned $956 million, up from $776 million in last year's quarter.   

Companywide revenue slipped 0.1% to $30.76 billion, but exceeded the $30.36 billion that Wall Street expected.