Target first quarter results beat expectations

LONDON (ShareCast) - US retail giant Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT - news) reported higher-than-expected first quarter earnings before the opening bell on Wednesday. The Minnesota-based group's earnings from continuing operations rose 14% year-on-year to $651m (£418.5m) in the first quarter, while excluding exceptional items earnings per share climbed to $1.10 per share against expectations of $1.03.

The retailer said its profit for the period jumped 51.9% from the corresponding period in 2014 to $635m.

Net sales climbed 2.8% to $17.1bn. Like-for-like sales rose 2.3%, driven by a 37.8% jump in digital channel sales.

"We're encouraged to see early progress on our strategic priorities [...] and positive traffic in both our stores and digital channels," said group chairman and chief executive Brian Cornell.

"We continue to benefit from strong execution by our stores team, who overcame weather challenges and West Coast port delays to deliver outstanding guest service in the first quarter." Target said it expected its earnings for the current quarter to be between $1.04 to $1.14 per share, against analysts' estimates of $1.12 per share. The company added it raised its full-year earnings forecast to $4.50 to $4.65 per share, from $4.45 to $4.65 per share.

Target shares were up 0.69% to $78.35 at 16:07 on Wednesday.