Target, Inc.

Target’s credit card portfolio is looking a whole lot more attractive to potential acquirers following improvements in the delinquency rates, risk profile and strong profit growth.

Fourth-quarter operating profit in the credit card segment increased 287% to $151 million compared with $39 million in the fourth quarter the prior year. For the full year, credit card segment profits advanced 169% to $541 million compared with $201 million the prior year.

Target is set to report February same-store sales this Thursday and offer the first data point of the new fiscal year in which same-store sales are forecast to increase in the range of 4% to 5%. For February, the company has forecast a low single-digit increase and last week in conjunction with the release of fourth-quarter results confirmed it was on track to meet the low single-digit number.

Target’s longstanding pricing philosophy of remaining within a few percentage points of Walmart remains intact, according to the most recently monthly pricing survey from Credit Suisse. The firm looks at prices on a basket of goods in Dallas and Chicago each month, and in January it revealed the gap between Walmart and Target had widened to 3.9% from 3.7% in December.

The solid fourth-quarter financial results Target reported last week were quickly overshadowed by long-term growth objectives that gave stakeholders a clear idea of where the company is headed in terms of sales and profits. Target expects its annual sales, currently about $66 billion, to reach the $100 billion mark within six to seven years, and current earnings per share of $4 will at least double over that same time frame.

New York City -- Target Corp. said its annual sales may top $100 billion within the next seven years, with revenue boosted by its first expansion outside the United States, Bloomberg reported.

The chain also may double earnings per share over that period, CFO Douglas Scovanner said Thursday on a conference call after fourth-quarter results. Net income in the period ended Jan. 29 rose 11% to $1.04 billion.

Fourth quarter earnings per share at Target advanced 17% to $1.45 compared with $1.24 the prior year, thanks to a seven-cent-a-share tax benefit, and quarterly profits were slightly more than $1 billion compared with $936 million the prior year. Fourth-quarter sales increased 2.8% to $20.3 billion compared with $19.7 billion the prior year and were aided by a 2.4% increase in same-store sales.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Jan. 29 rose 11% to $1.04 billion, helped by improved revenues and fewer write-offs of bad credit-card debt.

Retail sales increased 2.8% in the fourth quarter to $20.3 billion, from $19.7 billion in the year ago period. Same-store sales rose 2.4%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast $20.76 billion in revenue.

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. on Tuesday said its fourth-quarter net income fell by 25%, which was toward the low end of the company's already reduced guidance.

The company reported net income of $57 million in the October to December period, down from $75.7 million a year ago.

The Associated Press is reporting that Target has revised its policy governing political donations following a flap last year that tarnished the company’s progressive image. Target drew the wrath of gay rights activists after it was revealed the company donated $150,000 to a business group that supported Minnesota’s conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer who is an opponent of gay marriage and other gay rights initiatives.

Some spring fashion excitement is on tap for Target stores beginning March 13 when the company celebrates the fifth anniversary of its GO International designer program. Plans call for a collection of 34 dresses from 17 designers who participated in the GO International affordably priced fashion program over the past five years. The limited-edition assortment will be in most Target stores through April 10.