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Kmart, Federated nets up
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May 12, 1999: 9:55 a.m. ET
Kmart posts 40% earnings gain in 1Q; Federated handily beats estimates
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Two of the nation's biggest retailers, Kmart Corp. and Federated Department Stores, both reported big jumps in fiscal first-quarter earnings Wednesday as Americans' steady buying of new clothes and other merchandise drove up sales.
Troy, Mich.-based Kmart, the No. 3 retailer in the United States, said net income rose more than 40 percent to $67 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ended April 28. That compares with profit of $47 million, or 10 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
The latest per-share results matched the consensus estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp.
Federated Department Stores, owner of flagship stores such as Macy's and Bloomingdales, reported that its net income rose 45 percent to $87 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ended May 1. The results far exceeded First Call estimates of 31 cents per share.
A year earlier, Federated earned $60 million, or 27 cents per share, in the quarter.
Kmart (KM) racked up sales of $8.14 billion for the latest quarter, compared with $7.51 billion a year earlier, an increase of 8.4 percent. The company said it was the biggest rate of increase in four years.
Kmart president and CEO Floyd Hall credited the latest results to the strong performance of 1,377 stores that have been remodeled, as well as swift sales in several of its exclusive lines -- including Martha Stewart sheets, towels and other home products, and Jaclyn Smith and Kathy Ireland women's apparel.
At Cincinnati-based Federated (FD), first-quarter sales totaled $3.71 billion, an increase of 7.3 percent over the year-earlier period. In March, the company completed the acquisition of catalog retailer Fingerhut Companies Inc. for $1.7 billion. Federated attributed much of its sales growth to the new Fingerhut unit as well as to solid department store sales.
Federated operates more than 400 stores, which also include Bon Marche, Burdines, Goldsmith's, Lazarus and Stern's. 
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