The US trading group TJX Companies Inc. suffered a setback in the second quarter of the 2022/23 financial year. In the months of May to July, the sales of the world’s largest off-price provider fell short of the level of the same period last year. As a result, the retailer, which is represented in Germany by its chain TK Maxx, lowered its forecasts for the full year on Wednesday.
Group sales for the quarter were $11.8 billion, down two percent year-on-year. The main reason for this was a 13 percent drop in like-for-like sales at the US furnishing chain HomeGoods. Overall, the group’s like-for-like sales in the USA fell by five percent.
The retailer was still able to increase its profits. Quarterly net income was $809.3 million, up two percent year-on-year. In the second quarter of 2021/22, however, the group had to book special charges of around 242 million US dollars as part of the early debt repayment.
In view of the recent development, management adjusted the annual forecast: It now only expects diluted earnings per share in the range of 2.87 to 2.95 US dollars for 2022/23, after the previous target corridor was between 2.94 and 3 .01 US dollars. In addition, the retailer now expects a like-for-like sales decline of two to three percent in the USA. Corresponding growth of one to two percent had previously been targeted. The forecast for the pre-tax profit margin, on the other hand, was raised slightly: 9.3 to 9.5 percent instead of 9.2 to 9.4 percent are now expected.
