Dillard sales hit above forecast

3rd-quarter profit falls, but stock up

— Little Rock-based Dillard’s Inc. on Thursday reported strong gains in sales that beat analysts predictions and helped its thirdquarter adjusted profit.

The company recorded a profit of $48.5 million, or $1.01 a share, compared with $228.2 million, or $4.31 a share, a year ago.

Excluding one-time tax items, the company earned $46.1 million, or 96 cents per share, in the quarter, almost double what it earned in the same period in 2011 with a similar qualification. In that quarter, excluding an aftertax credit of $202.5 million, Dillard’s reported a profit of $25.7 million, or 48 cents a share.

The company reported about $1.49 billion in sales, compared with $1.42 billion last year. That includes operations from Dillard’s construction business, CDI Contractors LLC. Analysts expected Dillard’s to report $1.45 billion in sales for the period that ended Oct. 27.

Macy’s Inc., a competitor, reported a profit of $145 million and net sales of about $6 billion for its third quarter earlier this week.

Trends for Dillard’s were strongest in men’s apparel and accessories, women’s accessories, lingerie and shoes. The weakest performing category was home and furniture.

“Driven by a strong 5 percent sales increase, we were able to double our earnings per share for the third quarter on top of a record performance last year (after non-routine items),” William T. Dillard, II, the company’s chief executive officer said in a prepared statement.

“We are pleased with our gross margin improvement and expense control during the quarter as well as with our ending inventory level. We are entering the holiday season confidently based on these strong results and we look forward to serving our customers at the highest possible level in the coming weeks,” Dillard said in the statement.

During the quarter, Dillard’s closed an 85,000-square-foot store in Colonial Heights, Va. The company has 284 stores and 18 clearance centers in 29 states.

Dillard’s shares hit a new 52-week high after the company released its earnings report Thursday morning before the stock market opened.

Shares of the retailer opened at $85.17 Thursday after closing Wednesday at $80.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.

During the day Thursday, shares reached $86.71, beating the 52-week high of $82.99 before closing at $83.95, up $3.14, or 3.89%

Business, Pages 27 on 11/09/2012

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