Bed Bath & Beyond Profit Drops

By Josh Beckerman 

        Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.'s profit for the latest quarter fell 4%, and the housewares retailer projected earnings slightly less than Wall Street estimates for the current quarter.
        Comparable sales in the latest quarter rose 3.7%, including an unfavorable effect of about 0.2% from the Canadian currency exchange rate.
        Like other retailers, Bed Bath & Beyond's margins have been hurt in recent quarters by sales promotions and a shift away from traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
        Chief Executive Steven H. Temares said in a conference call that the company has seen "very good trends" in website visits and conversion rates in both mobile and digital sites. Mr. Temares said bad weather in the U.S. in late February and the West Coast port slowdown affected results.
        Bed Bath & Beyond expects per-share earnings to be 90 cents to 95 cents in the current quarter, while analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected $1.01 a share.
        For the current year, Bed Bath & Beyond predicts earnings will be between relatively flat to a mid-single digit increase from the previous year's $5.07 a share. Analysts project $5.43 a share.
        In late trading, the company's shares were down 3.1% to $75.30.
        The company expects a comparable sales increase of 2% to 3% for the current quarter and the full year.
        Meanwhile, Bed Bath & Beyond reported a profit for the quarter ended Feb. 28 of $321.1 million, or $1.80 a share, compared with $333.3 million, or $1.60 a share, a year earlier. The company repurchased about $947 million of stock in the quarter, leaving fewer shares outstanding.
        The company had projected earnings of $1.78 to $1.83 a share.
        Net sales increased 4% to $3.34 billion.
        Bed Bath & Beyond had 1,513 stores as of Feb. 28. In addition to its namesake chain, its brands include Cost Plus and World Market.
        Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
        Access Investor Kit for Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc.
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        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        April 08, 2015 19:04 ET (23:04 GMT)

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