Bright Penney

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (Plano, Texas), buoyed by stronger-than-expected department store sales in October and better drug store profits, has raised its short-term earnings expectations for the third quarter.

The nation's 10th-largest retailer said it expects to earn more than 21 cents per share, excluding some costs, in the three-month period that ended Oct. 26, 2002. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 19 cents per share. Penney earned 13 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Penney said cooler weather and aggressive marketing boosted department-store sales above a planned 3 percent-to-4 percent sales gain. Fine jewelry, home items and shoes were the best sellers.

The company's Eckerd drug store operation saw sales dip below projections for the month, but operating profits beat expectations. Penney catalog sales were down about 20 percent in October.