In the third quarter, Kohl’s comps slipped although the retailer’s net income rose. The company’s chief financial officer also plans to retire in the spring.
For the third quarter ended October 29, Kohl’s Corp. posted net income of $146 million, or 83 cents per diluted share, versus $120 million, or 63 cents per diluted share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings per share were $142 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, versus $144 million, or 75 cents per diluted share, in the 2015 quarter. Kohl’s beat a MarketBeat analyst average estimate of 70 cents per diluted share in the quarter.
Comparable store sales slipped 1.7% from the quarter in the year previous. Overall sales slid 2.3% to $4.33 billion.
Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, president and CEO, said, “We are pleased to see continued improvement in our sales trends. Our back-to-school season was strong, followed by a soft September, and progressive improvement throughout October. We are encouraged by these trends as we enter the holiday season. Our teams did an excellent job managing inventory. Expenses were also well-controlled as substantially all teams outperformed their plans.”
The company also said that its chief financial officer, Wesley McDonald, intends to retire in late spring 2017 after 14 years of service. Kohl’s will be conducting a comprehensive search for the CFO position over the next few months to prepare for McDonald’s retirement.
Kohl’s ended the third quarter with 1,155 stores.
