Nordstrom Q1 income surges 25%; rolling out mobile checkout devices

Seattle -- Nordstrom reported Thursday that its first-quarter net income rose 25% on improved revenue. But the company lowered its full-year outlook to reflect the impact of its acquisition of private-sale website HauteLook.



Nordstrom said it earned $145 million for the quarter that ended April 30, up from $116 million in the same quarter last year. (The figure includes a charge related to the HauteLook acquisition.) Revenue increased 12% to $2.23 billion. Same-store sales were up 6.5%.



The company reported stronger sales at its traditional retail stores, online and at its discount Nordstrom Rack stores.



As reported earlier, Nordstrom is rolling out 5,000 to 6,000 handheld mobile-checkout devices to its sales associates by this July. The devices allow sales associates to search entire inventory in real time for shoppers. Sales staff also will be able to scan an item, and customers can pay using their credit card.



"We're excited about our prospects in mobile and e-commerce," said Blake Nordstrom, the company's president, in an address to analysts during a conference call following the earnings release. "Online has been the fastest growing part of our business, and there is significant potential to drive more sales and improve service in this area."



The company announced Thursday that it will repurchase up to $750 million of its outstanding shares through 2013. This is in addition to its existing repurchase program, under which it has $235 million remaining for buybacks.