TJX reports 3Q sales, earnings growth

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. TJX has announced that net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 increased 5% to $5.5 billion, and consolidated comparable-store sales increased 1% over last year. Net income for the third quarter was $372 million. Diluted earnings per share were 92 cents, up 14% over 81 cents per share last year.

Carol Meyrowitz, president and CEO TJX, stated, “I am very pleased with our third quarter overall performance, which exceeded the high end of our expectations. Earnings per share increased 14% on top of 40% EPS growth last year, demonstrating our ability to continue to grow earnings even against challenging comparisons. Importantly, we were able to sustain last year’s significant increase in profit margin by continuing to run our business with lean inventories, which has led to additional improvement in merchandise margins. Customer traffic continued to be up over large increases last year despite warm weather in September and October, which dampened demand for cold weather apparel. With the weather cooling, November is off to a good start. We are extremely well positioned as we enter the fourth quarter. Our lean inventory position enables us to make the right buys and deliver great value. Further, we believe that our heightened marketing, which is reaching more markets, is helping to drive customer traffic. We will be flowing fresh, gift-giving selections in a variety of categories throughout the holiday selling season and believe that value will continue to be top of mind for consumers.”