JC Penney's quarterly sales rise due to higher Home, Sephora sales

[BENGALURU] Department store operator JC Penney Co Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly revenue, helped by strong sales at it its Home, Sephora, Footwear and Handbags divisions.

Sales for the quarter rose 2.5 per cent to US$4 billion.

The company's quarterly same-store sales rose 4.1 per cent, in line with expectations of analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.

JC Penney said it expects 2016 comparable sales to increase 3 per cent to 4 per cent and adjusted earnings to be positive.

The company said in January that sales at stores open 12 months rose 3.9 per cent in November and December, helped by strong online sales and its private brands.

This was in contrast to sales reports from rivals Macy's Inc, Kohl's Corp and Nordstrom Inc, that said unseasonably warm weather in November and December hurt sales of cold weather goods in the holiday quarter.

JC Penney reported a loss of US$131 million, or 43 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Jan 30, compared with a loss of US$35 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 39 cents per share.

Analysts on an average had expected earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of US$3.99 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the company rose 25.5 per cent to US$8.36 this year.

REUTERS