Penney Earnings Lower, But Better than Expected

PLANO, TX-Locally based J.C. Penney Co. posted lower earnings last year, yet still topped Wall Street expectations as well as its own. The national department store chain expects better results this year.

Net income for 2009 totaled $251 million, only 44% of what Penney earned the previous year, on slightly lower revenue of $17.6 billion. Sales for the year declined 5% overall, while comparable store sales fell 6.3%. In the fourth quarter, net income was down 5.2% over the year to $200 million, impacted by pension plan expenses, on 3.6% lower sales of $5.5 billion.

“Our disciplined approach to inventory planning, promotions and SG&A served us well, particularly in the fourth quarter with a planned lower sales volume,” Mike Ullman, Penney chairman and CEO, stated in a release. “As a result, we were able to achieve new peak gross margin levels for the year, which led to better-than-expected profitability and cash flow generation.”