Bed Bath & Beyond posts solid quarter, but 2Q outlook underwhelms

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 6/21/2012 12:48:26 PM

Union, N.J. - Bed Bath & Beyond's first quarter net income rose 14.5% to $206.8 million, with earnings per share up 24% to 89 cents.
Sales for the quarter ended May 26 increased 5.1% to $2.2 billion, and the company said sales have shifted toward lower-priced goods. Comps were up 3.0% on top of a 7.0% bump in the year-ago quarter.
The company also projected second quarter EPS of 97 cents to $1.03. Wall Street had been expecting guidance closer to $1.08 and expressed its displeasure by sending the retailer's stock price down 15% by late morning.
Executives were characteristically terse during the company's quarter conference call yesterday evening.
Leonard Feinstein, co-chairman, said that excluding the 259-store Cost Plus chain the company is in the process of acquiring, executives see the opportunity to operate more than 1,300 Bed Bath & Beyond stores in the United States and Canada. There are currently 1,185 BBB stores.
In addition, the company plans to expand the 72-unit Christmas Tree Shops and the 71-unit buybuy Baby nameplate "from coast to coast," he said. Bed Bath & Beyond also plans to expand the 45-store Harmon/Harmon Face Values discount health & beauty chain, although Feinstein did not provide a target number for that concept.