The US trading group Kohl’s Corporation achieved a surprisingly high profit in the fourth quarter of 2021/22, thereby exceeding expectations for the year as a whole. The company also announced strong sales growth on Tuesday.
In the past financial year, which ended on January 29, the group generated total sales of 19.4 billion US dollars (17.5 billion euros), which corresponds to an increase of 21.8 percent compared to the previous year. Retail sales grew 22.9 percent to $18.5 billion.
Thanks to measures taken as part of the ongoing restructuring program, the company was able to surprisingly increase its operating margin significantly. The net profit of 938 million US dollars (844 million euros) was above expectations. In the previous year, the retail group had to report a loss of 163 million US dollars. Adjusted for special items, net income was $1.09 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $7.33.
For the current financial year, the company forecast sales growth of two to three percent. The target corridor for adjusted earnings per share is between 7.00 and 7.50 US dollars. The company also announced that it would expand its partnership with perfumery chain Sephora and will buy back at least $1 billion of its own stock later this year.