Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) surprised investors, delivering a profit in the second quarter. The company’s sales also exceeded analysts’ estimates.
The company, based in Dublin, Calif. reported earnings per share of $0.06 on net income of $22.0 million. This compares to net income of $413 million or earnings per share of $1.14 last year.
Total sales for the period were $2.7 billion, down from $4.0 billion in the second quarter of 2019. Comparable store sales were down 12% for reopened stores from the date of their reopening to the end of the fiscal quarter.
Second-quarter 2020 results include a $174 million or $0.19 per share benefit related to the partial reversal of the inventory valuation reserve from the first quarter.
For the six months ended August 1, 2020, the Company reported a per share loss of $(0.81) versus earnings per share of $2.29 for the same period last year. The net loss for the first half of 2020 was $284 million compared to net income of $834 million in the prior year. Sales for the first six months of 2020 declined 42% to $4.5 billion.
Said CEO Barbara Rentler, "Comparable stores sales during the quarter were impacted by a number of factors. During the initial re-openings, sales were ahead of our conservative plans as we benefited from pent-up demand and aggressive markdowns to clear aged inventory. In the weeks thereafter, trends were negatively impacted from depleted store inventory levels while we were ramping up our buying and distribution capabilities."
ROST opened Friday trading up 97.5 cents, or 1.1%, to $88.44.
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