J. C. Penney Swings To Q4 Profit On Tax Benefit

(RTTNews) - J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) reported net income for the fourth quarter of $35 million or $0.11 per share, compared to a net loss of $552 million or $2.51 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net loss for the latest quarter was $206 million or $0.68 per share, compared to an adjusted net loss of $427 million or $1.95 per share in the prior year quarter..

Net sales for the fourth quarter fell 2.6% to $3.78 billion from $3.88 billion a year ago. Same-store sales rose 2.0 % for the quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.85 per share on revenue of $3.85 billion for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Looking forward, the company expects same-store sales to increase approximately 3 to 5 % for the first quarter and to increase mid single digits for the full year 2014.