Federated Department Stores Inc. (Cincinnati) reported lower sales and operating income for its second quarter, ended Aug. 2, 2003.
However, the retailer's earnings of 64 cents per share for quarter exceeded its revised guidance of 60-63 cents a share. Terry Lundgren, Federated's president and ceo, credited the company's earnings performance to an improving sales trend, strong gross margins and tight expense controls.
Federated's operating income for the second quarter was down 5.3 percent from a year ago; it included $10 million in store closing and consolidation costs. For the first half of 2003, operating income was down 21 percent; it included $18 million in store closing and consolidation costs.
Second quarter sales were down 1.5 percent and same-store sales were down 1.2 percent. For the year to date, total sales and same-store sales both decreased 3.1 percent.
New stores opened by Federated in the second quarter included a Macy's furniture gallery in Staten Island, N.Y.; a Bon-Macy's department store in Redmond, Wash.; a Bon-Macy's furniture gallery in Tacoma, Wash.; and two Rich's-Macy's furniture galleries, in Atlanta and Augusta, Ga.
Federated, with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, operates more than 450 stores in 34 states, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's, Bloomingdale's, The Bon-Macy's, Burdines, Goldsmith's-Macy's, Lazarus-Macy's and Rich's-Macy's.