Nordstrom misses forecasts for profit and sales

  • Associated Press
  • Thursday, February 18, 2016 4:23pm
  • Business

SEATTLE — Nordstrom Inc. shares slumped in extended trading Thursday after the retailer reported disappointing results for the holiday season.

The Seattle-based company said it earned a fourth-quarter profit of $180 million, or $1 per share. Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs, came to $1.17 per share.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.22 per share.

The department store operator posted revenue of $4.14 billion in the period, which also did not meet Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.22 billion.

Sales in stores open at least a year — a key metric of a retailer’s health — rose 1 percent.

A year earlier, Nordstrom earned $255 million, or $1.32 per share, on revenue of $3.94 billion.

Nordstrom, which operates more than 300 locations in the United States and Canada, said beauty products and shoes were the top-selling categories in its full-price stores.

For the year, the company reported profit of $600 million, or $3.15 per share. Revenue was reported as $14.1 billion.

Looking ahead, Nordstrom expects full-year earnings in the range of $3.10 to $3.35 per share. That’s below the average analyst estimate of $3.54 per share, according to FactSet. Sales are expected to grow 3.5 to 5.5 percent, while comparable-store sales are seen flat to up 2 percent. The retailer also said that it has reduced its expenses and capital investments in response to current sales trends, but it didn’t provide specifics.

Nordstrom’s shares have climbed roughly 6 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard &Poor’s 500 index has fallen 6 percent.

Nordstrom’s stock ended Thursday’s regular-session trading at $52.75, a decline of 32 percent in the last 12 months. It shed another 8.5 percent after hours, to $48.26.

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