Minneapolis – Fiscal third-quarter revenue increased 11.8 percent at the Target Stores segment of Target Corp., hitting $8.5 billion, compared with $7.6 billion in the year-ago period.
Even with relatively soft sales performance during the third quarter, the Target Stores segment pushed its pre-tax profit up 21.2 percent, to $537 million, from $444 million in the same three months in 2001.
Target Stores registered a 19.3 percent increase in Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) in the three months, ending Nov. 2, hitting $774 million, compared with EBITDA of $651 million year-on-year. Comparable-store sales climbed 1 percent.
For the nine months, the Target Stores segment enjoyed a 15.4 percent revenue hike, reaching $25 billion, up from $21.6 billion in the same period last year. Comp-store sales rose 4 percent.
Pre-tax profit soared 31 percent at Target Stores in the nine months, hitting $1.9 billion, up from $1.5 billion in the year-ago period, while EBITDA jumped 27.3 percent, to $2.6 billion, from $2 billion the previous year.
Consolidated Target Corp. revenue, which includes Mervyn’s and Marshall Field’s, in the third quarter increased 9.3 percent, to $10.2 billion, moving up from the $9.3 billion recorded in the same period in 2001. Comparable-store sales rose 0.1 percent.
Third quarter consolidated net earnings were $277 million, a 50.2 percent rise over the $185 million posted in last year’s third quarter. Target had registered a pretax charge of $67 million in the prior year’s quarter.
For the nine months, consolidated revenue increased 12.2 percent, to $29.9 billion, from $26.6 billion. Comp-store sales climbed 2.7 percent.
Net earnings for the nine months rose 36.1 percent, reaching $966 million, compared with $710 million in the year-ago period.
In the fourth quarter, Target said its outlook for earnings growth is modest in light of last year’s strong performance.