TJX reports solid results

TJX Cos., the Framingham operator of such off-price retail chains as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, reported today that second-quarter sales rose 7 percent as penny-pinching consumers hunt for bargains in lower-priced stores.

Sales for the second quarter were $4.6 billion, TJX said, and net income jumped to $200 million, or 45 cents a share, from $59 million a year ago. Net income for last year's second quarter included an after-tax charge of $118 million related to the theft of customer credit and debit-card information from the company's computer systems, TJX said.

Second-quarter results this year include a $10-million after-tax impairment charge, or 2 cents per share, related to the company's troubled Bob's Stores chain. Published reports have indicated that TJX is seeking a buyer for its Bob's chain.

Excluding charges, adjusted diluted earnings per share for the second quarter were 47 cents, or a 24-percent increase over the adjusted 38 cents a share for the comparable quarter the previous year, the company said.

At stores open at least a year, a key measure of a retailer's health, sales were up 4 percent in the most recent second quarter when compared with the same period a year ago.

TJX president and chief executive Carol Meyrowitz: "We are very pleased with our second quarter performance. In a very challenging retail environment, we delivered strong sales, merchandise margins, and profit increases on top of very strong operating results last year."

Also today TJX raised its full year outlook.

For the third quarter of this year, TJX said it expects diluted earnings per share in the range of 59 to 62 cents, a 9 to 15 percent increase over 54 cents for the comparable quarter last year.

For the full fiscal year, TJX said it is raising its guidance of diluted earnings per share to a range of $2.26 to $2.31; last year, the company earned $1.66 a share, which included a charge of $119 million, or 25 cents per share, related to the computer intrusion.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)