Belk net income up sharply

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 11/21/2012 10:25:57 AM

Charlotte, N.C. - As regional department store retailer Belk completed 19 store expansions and remodels year-to-date, net income for the third quarter jumped to $11.1 million compared to $600,000 in the year-ago period.
Including one-time items, net income in the third quarter ended Oct. 27 was $9.8 million compared to $1.4 million in the year-ago quarter.
Home was cited as one of the leaders in revenue growth, along with men's and kid's.
Sales for the quarter rose 5.9% to $837.5 million, with comps up 5.8%. This marked the 11th consecutive quarter of comp store growth for the privately held retailer, which operates 301 stores in 16 Southern states.
"A key factor in our sales growth is the significant investment we're making across many areas of our business, including technology, store expansions and remodels, ecommerce, and service excellence," said Tim Belk, chairman and ceo.
Year-to-date, net income jumped 37.0% to $78.8 million. Excluding one-time items, net income increased 34.8% to $76.7 million. Sales rose 5.8% to $2.62 billion, with comps up 6.1%.