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Target first-quarter earnings and sales top estimates

By Iain Gilbert

Date: Wednesday 22 May 2019

Target first-quarter earnings and sales top estimates

(Sharecast News) - US retailer Target topped estimates with its first-quarter earnings and sales on Wednesday, welcoming more customers to its brick and mortar locations and enticing them to part with more cash.
Net income came in at $795m, or $1.53 per share, up 10.7% year-on-year and $0.10 ahead of analysts' estimates, while revenues were up 5% to $17.63bn - which was also ahead of estimates of $17.52bn.

Sales at Target stores open for at least 12 months and its online business were up 4.8%, ahead of the expected growth of 4.2%, marking eight consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth for Target.

Target also saw traffic at stores grow 4.3%, overall transactions increase 4.3% and average transaction amounts rise 0.5%.

E-commerce sales surged 42%, with shoppers turning to its curbside pickup service for online orders, something rival Amazon does not offer. Online purchases now represent 7.1% of Target's total transactions, up from 5.2% a year earlier.

Looking forward, Target kept its full-year outlook unchanged despite the threat of 25% tariffs on apparel and footwear coming from China.

Chief executive Brian Cornell assured investors Target was "well-positioned to deliver strong financial performance in 2019 and beyond."

As of 1335 BST, Target shares had climbed 6.07% in pre-market trading to $76.33 each.

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