Investors were pleased with the results out of discount retailer Ross as earnings results hit the wires yesterday. Share were up more than 3 percent after earnings results on the top and bottom line came out ahead of, or in line with, analyst expectations.
By the numbers, Ross earned $321 million, or 82 cents a share, in the fiscal first quarter, markedly better than the $291 million, or 73 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had been forecasting 80 cent per share earnings.
Sales picked up 7.7 percent to $3.3 billion, while same store sale saw a pick-up of 3 percent. That again is a slight on analysts’ sales predictions of $3.27 billion.
Going forward, Ross is forecasting same-store sales growth to be between 1 percent and 2 percent during Q2, with EPS ranging form 73 cents to 76 cents for the quarter.
Full year earnings are forecast to range between $3.07 to $3.17 a share, compared to $2.83 a share last year.
