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NEW YORK – (AP) – Target sales and profits rose in the first quarter as customers emerging from the pandemic returned to their stores in large numbers to purchase clothes, cosmetics and luggage.

Sales in stores opened for at least a year increased 18% for the three-month period ending May 1. This corresponds to an increase of 6.9% in the previous quarter. Online sales rose 50% after rising 118% in the final quarter of 2020.

The Minneapolis chain also offered positive selling prospects on Wednesday, with stocks rising to all-time highs.

“With the introduction of vaccinations across the country and increasing consumer wellbeing, we have seen an enthusiastic return to store shopping,” CEO Brian Cornell told industry analysts on Wednesday. This is a big contrast to a year earlier when customers were shut down relying heavily on delivery, he said.

Almost all retailers reporting quarterly profits this week have posted huge sales numbers, evidence of a migration from the time they spent indoors to something closer to normal.

Walmart, the country’s largest retailer, upped its earnings expectations for Tuesday, while Macy’s surprised almost everyone by returning to profitability. It has also raised its forecast for 2021. TJX announced on Wednesday that it had reversed losses from last year and sales are booming.

Home Depot and Lowe’s, which didn’t suffer like department stores during the pandemic thanks to a booming real estate market, beat forecasts by Wall Street analysts, who had already raised their sales and earnings expectations.

Clothing was the star at Target during the quarter. Apparel sales increased by more than 60%.

However, household goods sales rose in the mid-30% range, and health product sales also continue to be strong, with some of the longer-term habits that emerged during the pandemic being longer-term, said Christina Hennington, Target’s chief growth officer.

Target announced in March that it would be investing $ 4 billion annually in its business over the next several years to refresh its stores, add new ones, and expedite delivery. Capital investments have increased by 50% compared to the previous year.

Target has expanded online delivery, making it easier for customers to get what they want during the pandemic. Items picked up in-store after purchasing online and Shipt, a member-based shipping program, rose more than 90%, according to the company. However, the branches remain central to the operation of the company. More than 95% of total sales are achieved there, regardless of whether the purchase was made online or in the target registers.

Target gained more than $ 1 billion in market share from competitors in the most recent quarter, in addition to $ 1 billion in the first quarter of 2020, it said on Wednesday.

Net income for the first quarter rose more than six-fold to $ 2.1 billion, or $ 4.17 per share. The removal of the one-time cost and benefit per share was $ 3.69, slightly exceeding Wall Street’s expectations of $ 2.21, according to FactSet.

The company made $ 284 million, or 56 cents a share, in the same period last year as shoppers bought more low-margin goods like groceries and fewer goods that were more profitable to Target, such as grocery stores. B. Clothing.

Revenue rose 23.3% to $ 23.88 billion, beating analysts’ forecasts of $ 21.75 billion.

Target was able to handle inflationary pressures, Cornell told reporters during a media call on Tuesday. Target, which has invested heavily in its workers, has not faced the same labor shortage that many service-sector companies have been reporting on on a large scale.

For the current quarter, Target expects comparable sales growth in the mid to high single digits compared to the previous year. The second quarter operating profit margin is also expected to be well above the second quarter 2019 rate of 7.2%, but likely not as high as last year’s unprecedented 10.0%.

The shares of Target Corp. rose nearly 5% or $ 9.65 to $ 216.07.

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This story has been corrected to show that the media call was Wednesday, not Tuesday.

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