TRU sees drop in FY earnings

WAYNE, N.J. For the 2008 fiscal year ended January 31, Toys"R"Us reported net earnings of $218 million, compared to net earnings of $153 million for the 2007 fiscal year. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, the company reported net earnings of $345 million, compared to net earnings of $312 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

“We are very pleased with our results in such a challenging macro environment,” said Jerry Storch, chairman and CEO, Toys“R”Us. “Our sales momentum was the result of a number of specific actions we have taken over the past year, including the continued integration of our toy and baby businesses led by the growth of our new “R” Superstores and our Side-by-Side conversions in the United States. Combined with our aggressive efforts to preserve margins and control costs, we have been able to maintain strong overall profitability.”

Fiscal 2008 net sales were $13.724 billion versus $13.794 billion in fiscal 2007. For the domestic segment comparable-store sales decreased 0.1%; and for the International segment comparable-store sales decreased 3.4%.