UPDATE: Macy's Posts Rise In Q1 Earnings, Lifts Dividend

Macy's

reported a rise in its first-quarter earnings. Macy's reaffirmed its outlook for the full year. It also increased its share-buyback plan by $1.5 billion and lifted its dividend by 25% to 31.25 cents per share. Macy's posted a quarterly profit of $224 million, or $0.60 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $217 million, or $0.55 per share. Its revenue slipped 1.7% to $6.28 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.59 per share on revenue of $6.46 billion. Its revenue at stores open at least a year dropped 0.8%. Macy's gross margin widened to 38.9% versus 38.8%, while input costs declined 1.9% to $3.84 billion. The company's press release offered the following comment from Terry J. Lundgren, Macy's, Inc. chairman and chief executive officer: “Overall, business trends were soft in January through March, with the exception of the Valentine's Day shopping period. The trend improved in April when the weather began to turn in northern climate zones. We see this as a good sign moving forward into the second quarter. In addition to weather, first quarter comparisons were negatively impacted by a calendar shift for our popular Friends & Family event and the fact that we were up against a very strong first quarter last year.” Macy's shares gained 1.23% to $58.55 in pre-market trading.