Finance & Capital Management

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe’s Cos. reported Monday that profit for the quarter ended July 29 was $830 million, down from $832 million in the year-ago period. The home improvement retailer closed seven underperforming stores on Sunday and trimmed its earnings forecast for the year.

“Despite some recovery in our seasonal business, our performance for the quarter fell short of our expectations," said Robert A. Niblock, CEO.

Net sales edged up 1.3% to $14.5 billion; same-store sales dipped 0.3%.

Target has a lot of things going right for it right now with some decent sales momentum and a mix of current and long term initiatives to drive growth. Even so, Target is in the same boat as other retailers who are posting solid profits, but doing so in an uncertain economic climate where fragile consumer confidence makes it hard to get to aggressive when it comes to forecasting future performance.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s reported sales of $14.5 billion in the second quarter ended July 29, up 1.3% from the same period a year ago.

Comparable-store sales increased 0.3% in the second quarter. The company posted earnings for the quarter of $830 million, down just slightly from $832 million in the same quarter last year.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Body Central Corp., operator of the Body Central and Body Shop retail chains, reported Friday that net income for the second quarter was $5.3 million, compared with $2.3 million in the year-ago period.

Net revenues increased 22.1% to $74.7 million, compared with $61.2 million for second quarter 2010. Same-store sales increased 14.7%.
 

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores is again looking into a possible deal to buy Carrefour’s Brazilian unit, according to reports by Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal.

According to the reports, the acquisition would enhance Wal-Mart’s position in Latin America.
 

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax announced that it has appointed Mike MacDonald as EVP and president of its global contract organization and Steve Mongeau as SVP sales and growth initiatives, effective Aug. 15.   

Walmart is due to report second quarter results on Tuesday, and the same-store sales and traffic trends at the company’s U.S. stores division will dominate the discussion.

Asheville, N.C. -- Ingles Markets reported Friday that profit for the quarter ended June 25 rose 11% to $12.7 million, compared with $11.4 million in the year earlier period.

Revenue increased 6% to $911 million from $856.1 million. Same-store sales, excluding fuel, rose 2%.