Bed Bath & Beyond earnings up 35%

UNION, N.J. Bed Bath & Beyond reported net earnings of 70 cents per diluted share ($181.8 million) in the fiscal second quarter ended Aug. 28, an increase of approximately 35% versus net earnings of 52 cents per diluted share ($135.5 million) in the same quarter a year ago. Net sales for the fiscal second quarter of 2010 were approximately $2.137 billion, an increase of approximately 11.6% from net sales of approximately $1.915 billion reported in the fiscal second quarter of 2009. Comparable-store sales in the fiscal second quarter of 2010 increased by approximately 7.4%, compared with a decrease of approximately 0.6% in last year's fiscal second quarter.

For the fiscal first half ended Aug. 28, the company reported net earnings of $1.22 per diluted share ($319.3 million), an increase of approximately 42% over net earnings of 86 cents per diluted share ($222.7 million) in the corresponding period a year ago.  Net sales for the fiscal first half of 2010 were approximately $4.060 billion, an increase of approximately 12.5% from net sales of approximately $3.609 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.  Comparable-store sales for the fiscal first half of 2010 increased by approximately 7.9%, compared with a decrease of approximately 1.1% in last year's fiscal first half.

For the fiscal third quarter of 2010, the company said it is modeling net earnings per diluted share to be approximately 61 cents to 65 cents.  For fiscal 2010, the company is now modeling net earnings per diluted share to increase by approximately 20%, up from the previous model of approximately 15%.