Kohl’s May Sales Escalate – Analyst Blog

Kohl’s Corporation (KSS), the retailer of apparel, footwear, accessories, soft home products, and house wares, delivered sales results for the four-week period ended May 29, 2010.

 

The company’s comparable-store sales for May rose 3.5%, after sliding 7.7% in April 2010. Comparable-store sales had dropped 0.4% in May 2009. Kohl’s had been registering positive comparable-store sales growth each month in 2010 except in April, when sales were hurt by an early Easter. Moreover, Kohl’s is looking forward to a positive trend for the rest of 2010.

 

Year-to-date, comparable-store sales climbed 6.4% compared with a decline of 3.2% in the same period last year.

 

In sharp contrast to 5% year-over-year dip in total sales in April 2010, total sales for May increased 6.6% to $1.34 billion from $1.26 billion in the same month last year. The results of May 2010, surpassed management’s expectation as business improved during the last week of the month, offsetting some of the sales loss expected with the Memorial Day shift to June 2010. Year-to-date, sales climbed 9.8% to $5.37 billion from $4.89 billion in the corresponding period last year.

 

Continuing the trend, e-commerce increased more than 50% year-over-year in May 2010. Sales were strongest in the Northeast and Southeast, and footwear experienced the strongest comparable-store sales for the month.

 

Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin based Kohl’s, guided comps to increase to 2% – 4% in second-quarter 2010 and 3.5% –5% in fiscal 2010. Kohl’s forecasts annual sales growth of 5% –7% in the second quarter; and 6.5% – 8% in fiscal 2010.

 

Kohl’s, which operates 1,067 stores in 49 states, expects earnings per share of 70-75 cents for the second quarter and $3.40-$3.63 for fiscal 2010. The company’s guidance fell short of the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of 76 cents and $3.74 a share, for the second quarter and fiscal 2010, respectively.