Business Analytics

Scotts Miracle-Gro posted first-quarter net sales of $205.8 million, up 3% from $199.6 million during the same quarter a year ago. 

Sales in the Global Consumer segment in the quarter ended Dec. 29, 2012, were up 3% to $153.2 million, compared with $149.1 million a year ago, attributable to increased volume during the quarter. 

City of Commerce, Calif. -- 99 Cents Only Stores reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Dec. 29 rose 6.5% to $51 million, compared with $47.9 million in the year-ago period.

Total sales increased 8.8% to $35.6 million, from $403.9 million last year. Same-store sales rose 4.3%.

The company said it plans to open six stores during the fourth quarter, with most slated to open in California.
 

Denton, Texas -- Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. reported Thursday that profit in the first quarter nearly doubled year-over-year – from $30.1 million to $59 million – but results still missed Wall Street expectations.

Revenue rose 4.7% to $905.4 million, shy of analysts’ expected $915.1 million in revenue.

Same-store sales rose 2.8%.

CITY OF COMMERCE, Calif. — 99 Cents Only Stores reported that net sales for the third quarter increased $35.6 million, or 8.8%, to $439.5 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 compared to $403.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2012. Same-store sales increased 4.3%.  

New York -- CVS Caremark Corp. bought Drogaria Onofre, a 44-store drug store based in San Paulo, Brazil, last week, Reuters reported. It marks the first time CVS has expanded outside the United States.
 
"We view Brazil as an attractive market given that healthcare and pharmacy are expected to grow double digits for the next decade," CVS CEO Larry Merlo told Reuters. "It's still a highly-fragmented market, so we see nice opportunity to grow the business over time."

Higher prices for chicken and beef enabled Tyson Foods to offset reduced volumes during its first quarter and that has the company off to what president and CEO Donnie Smith called a good start to the fiscal year.

The nation’s largest protein producer said sales increased less than 1% to $8.4 billion from $8.3 billion, but profits grew nearly 11% to $173 million from $156 million and earnings per share increased 14.3% to 48 cents from 42 cents.

Brisbane, Calif. -- Bebe Stores Inc. swung to a loss in its fiscal second quarter from a profit a year ago amid heavy discounting during the holiday shopping season.

Bebe said it lost $4.8 million for the three months that ended Dec. 29, according to preliminary results, versus a profit of $6.5 million a year earlier.

Net sales dropped 11% to $135.5 million. Same-store sales fell 10.5%.

Matthews, N.C. -- Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. reported that its fiscal first-quarter net income rose nearly 67%. The company earned $22.8 million for the quarter that ended Jan. 1, up from $13.7 million in the same quarter last year. The prior year's results included an $18 million cost to settle some pension liabilities and employee benefits in connection with the sale of its industrial thread manufacturing company.
    

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday that same-store sales for the month of January edged up 0.3%, boosted by a 4.2% rise in front-end sales for the month along with increased prescription counts.

Total sales for the four-week period decreased 0.5% to $1.914 billion.

SEATTLE — Amazon.com reported that net sales increased 22% to $21.27 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $17.43 billion in fourth quarter 2011. 

Net income decreased 45% to $97 million in the fourth quarter, or 21 cents per diluted share, compared with $177 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2011.