For the fiscal fourth quarter ended January 28, Ross Stores posted net earnings of $300.6 million, or 77 per diluted share, versus $264.2 million, or 66 cents per diluted share, in the period a year previous in large measure due to stronger than expected sales, which helped boost operating margin.
Ross earnings per diluted share exceeded a MarketBeat published analyst average estimate of 75 cents.
Comparable store sales advanced 4%. Net sales were $3.51 billion as compared to $3.25 billion in the quarter a year before.
For the full fiscal year, Ross Stores posted net earnings of $1.12 billion, or $2.83 per diluted share, versus $1.02 billion, or $2.51 per diluted share, in the period a year previous. Comps gained 4% for the year. Net sales were $12.87 billion as compared to $11.94 billion in the year before.
Barbara Rentler, Ross CEO, said, “We are very pleased with our better-than-expected sales and earnings results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year, especially given our strong multi-year comparisons and the highly competitive and promotional holiday season. Our results continued to benefit from our ability to offer customers great values on a wide assortment of gifts and fashions for the family and the home. Fourth quarter operating margin grew 90 basis points to 13.6% up from 12.7% in the prior year. This improvement was mainly driven by our above-plan sales along with a favorable comparison of packaway-related costs versus last year’s fourth quarter. For the 2016 fiscal year, operating margin increased 40 basis points to a new record of 14%.”
