The US retail group Macy’s Inc. suffered a setback in the second quarter of the 2022/23 financial year. Sales fell just short of the previous year’s level, and profits shrank considerably. Chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette was not entirely dissatisfied: Despite the “difficult market environment”, the group of companies, which includes the chains Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, “delivered solid results”, he explained in the interim report published on Tuesday. In view of the adverse conditions, however, the retailer lowered its annual targets.
In the months of May to July, group sales amounted to 5.60 billion US dollars (5.62 billion euros), down 0.8 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Reported net income decreased 20.3 percent to $275 million (EUR 276 million) due to higher operating costs. Adjusted for special effects, it even fell by 32.6 percent to 277 million US dollars.
The company does not expect the conditions to improve for the time being. The retailer acknowledged that there is now a risk of an “enhanced macroeconomic downturn” after demand in some categories has already fallen recently. In light of this, he lowered his forecasts for the full fiscal year.
For 2022, management now only expects sales to be in the range of $24.34 billion to $24.58 billion, down from a target range of $24.46 billion to $24.70 billion previously. Adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance was capped to $4.00-$4.20 from $4.53-$4.90.