TJX Cos. raises 3Q, 2010 profit forecasts

posted: 37 DAYS 9 HOURS AGO

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FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -TJX Cos., which owns the discount retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, on Monday raised its profit forecast for the third quarter and full year based on improved sales in October at stores open at least a year.

TJX's chains have drawn in cost-conscious shoppers as economic conditions took their toll on consumer spending.

For the third quarter, TJX now expects per-share profit in a range of 77 cents to 79 cents, compared with the 58 cents it earned the year before. That profit range assumes sales at stores open at least a year will grow by 8 percent to 9 percent combined at the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains.

The new third-quarter forecast beats the company's Oct. 8 prediction of 71 cents and 74 cents per share, and analysts' average estimate of 74 cents per share, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

For its 2010 fiscal year, the retailer expects per-share profit in a range of $2.46 to $2.54, compared with $2.08 per share last year. The latest prediction assumes that sales at the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains' at stores open at least a year will grow 4 percent to 5 percent for the year.

Analysts expect profit of $2.49 per share in fiscal 2010, on average.

The company reiterated its fourth-quarter profit forecast of 60 cents to 66 cents per share, which is below analysts' consensus estimate of 67 cents.

Shares of Framingham, Mass.-based TJX rose 75 cents to close at $39.06 on Monday, and jumped 67 cents or nearly 2 percent in after-hours trading. The company operates 885 T.J. Maxx, 816 Marshalls, 323 HomeGoods, and 147 A.J. Wright stores in the United States as well as stores in Canada and Europe.

2009-10-19 16:58:01