Ross Stores delivers on value proposition

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Ross Stores continues to deliver on consumers' demands for value and delivered a profitable fourth quarter that met Wall Street expectations. The company reported that profit for the quarter ended Jan. 28 rose 19% to $192 million, from $161.8 million last year.

Sales surged almost 12% to $2.4 billion, and same-store sales increased 7%.

For the full year, Ross reported a net income rise of 18% to $657.2 million. Sales increased 9% to $8.6 billion, with same-store sales up 5%.

“Our healthy revenue growth continues to be driven mainly by our ability to deliver compelling bargains,” said Michael Balmuth, CEO. For 2012, Balmuth said, "We believe our ability to offer customers terrific name brand bargains, while running our business with much lower store inventories, remains a key driver of sales growth and operating profitability.”

Looking ahead, Balmuth said, "We believe our ability to offer customers terrific name brand bargains, while running our business with much lower store inventories, remains a key driver of sales growth and operating profitability. This ongoing focus, as well as our history of delivering solid financial results in both healthy and more challenging economic times, gives us the confidence to project respectable increases in both revenues and earnings per share in 2012 and beyond."