For the fourth quarter ended January 28, TJX Co. posted net income of $677.9 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, versus $666.5 million, or 99 cents per diluted share, in the year-before quarter.
Earnings per diluted share beat a published Thomson Reuters analyst average estimate of $1.
In the fourth quarter, on a constant currency basis, comparable store sales in the Marmaxx group, including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls operations, gained 3% versus the quarter a year previous, while those for HomeGoods advanced 5%, those for TJX Canada advanced 4% and those for TJX International advanced 2% for a company average of 3%. Net sales were $9.47 billion versus $8.96 billion in the quarter a year earlier.
For the full 2016 fiscal year, net income was $2.3 billion, or $3.46 per diluted share, versus $2.28 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share, in the year before With the exclusion of a third quarter debt extinguishment charge and pension settlement charge, which combined reduced earnings per share by seven cents, adjusted diluted earnings per share for the 2016 fiscal year were $3.53.
In the full fiscal year, on a constant currency basis, comps in the Marmaxx group gained 5% versus the quarter a year previous, while those for HomeGoods advanced 6%, those for TJX Canada advanced 8% and those for TJX International advanced 2% for a company average of 5%. Net sales were $33.18 billion versus $30.94 billion in the quarter a year prior.
Ernie Herrman, TJX president and CEO, said, “The year 2016 was another terrific year for TJX on top of many great years. We were proud to mark our 40-year milestone as a company and surpass $33 billion in sales. Our consolidated comp sales increased a strong 5%, above our plan and over 5% growth last year, and earnings per share growth exceeded our expectations. We also delivered a 7% increase in net sales, over a 6% increase last year. We were particularly pleased that customer traffic was the primary driver of our comp increases at every major division, which tells us that our eclectic merchandise mix and amazing values continue to resonate with consumers across our geographies. It was also great to see a strong increase in our merchandise margin, over a very solid increase last year. The year 2016 also marked our 21st consecutive year of comp sales increases. We were also very pleased to end the year with above-plan fourth quarter results. Once again, comp sales were driven by customer traffic and our merchandise margin was up. Our fourth quarter and full year results give us great confidence that we are growing our customer base around the world and gaining market share across all our divisions.”
