TJX Beats Q1 Expectations, Shares Surge

Shares of TJX Companies Inc (NYSE: TJX) gained more than 4% in pre-market trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter and raised its full-year outlook.The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company posted quarterly net income of $474.6 million, or $0.69 per share, compared to $454.3 million, or $0.64 per share, in the year-ago period.Its revenue rose 6 percent to $6.87 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.67 per share on revenue of $6.8 billion.The average estimate among 15 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.68 per share and revenue of $6.82 billion.Its comparable store sales climbed 5 percent in the quarter.Gross profit margin rose 0.4 percentage points year-over-year to 28.3 percent for the first quarter. Selling, general and administrative costs as a percent of sales increased 0.5 percentage points to 17.0 percent.During the first quarter, TJX repurchased a total of $415 million of its stock.As of May 2, 2015, total inventories rose to $3.5 billion, from $3.2 billion at the end of the year-ago quarter.Carol Meyrowitz, Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies, Inc., said, "We are extremely pleased with our continued momentum and first quarter performance…It was great to see that, similar to last quarter, comp sales were almost entirely driven by customer traffic and we had a significant increase in units sold. At the same time, we also saw a strong increase in our merchandise margins. We were very pleased that we achieved these strong results despite significant foreign currency headwinds and while simultaneously investing in our business to support our growth goals. Our underlying business remains strong, our values are better than ever, and we have many exciting initiatives planned for the remainder of the year to continue driving sales and customer traffic."For the full year, TJX projects earnings of $3.21 to $3.27 per share, compared to earlier forecast of $3.18 to $3.25 per share. The company now expects comparable store sales to rise 2 percent to 3 percent.For the second quarter, TJX projects earnings of $0.72 to $0.74 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.78 per share.TJX shares climbed 4.56 percent to $70.33 in pre-market trading.