CINCINNATI (AP) -- Macy's Inc. said Thursday that revenue at stores open at least a year rose 2.4 percent in January on higher online sales, but fell short of Wall Street expectations.
The Cincinnati-based department store chain posted a 5.2 percent same-store revenue increase for its fiscal fourth quarter, and it boosted profit guidance for the quarter and the full year to levels above current analysts' estimates.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a January increase in revenue at stores open at least a year of 3.5 percent. The metric is a key gauge of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.
For the four-weeks ended Jan. 29, Macy's said its total sales rose 2 percent to $1.34 billion from $1.31 billion in the four weeks ended Jan. 29, 2011. Online sales, which include the macys.com and bloomingdales.com websites, rose 38.7 percent in January.
Total sales for the fiscal fourth quarter rose 5.5 percent to $8.72 billion from $8.27 billion in the prior-year period. Fourth-quarter online sales jumped 40 percent and boosted the company's same-store revenue for the quarter by 1.7 percentage points, Macy's said.
For the full fiscal year, same-store revenue increased 5.3 percent and total sales rose 5.6 percent to $26.4 billion from $25 billion. Online sales increased 39.6 percent for the year and increased same-store revenue by 1.5 percentage points.
While January sales were weaker-than-expected, Macy's was pleased with its overall sales for the fourth quarter. The retailer raised its adjusted fourth-quarter profit outlook to a range of $1.63 to $1.65 per share, up from its previous prediction of $1.55 to $1.60 per share.
Analysts, on average, expect a profit of $1.63 for the quarter, according to a FactSet poll.
For the full fiscal year, Macy's now expects to earn between $2.81 and $2.83 per share. It previously projected a range of $2.73 to $2.78 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet forecast a profit of $2.79 per share.
Macy's shares rose 54 cents to 34.53 in morning trading.
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