Bed Bath & Beyond Profit In Line

(RTTNews) - Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY) on Thursday reported a decline in second-quarter profit as expenses continued to weigh on earnings, even as sales inched up. The home goods retailer's earnings were in line with Wall Street estimates while sales missed expectations by a tad.

Bed Bath & Beyond provided earnings outlook for the third quarter, the mid-point of which is indicated to miss Street estimates. The company reaffirmed its outlook for the full year.

The company announced a new $2.5 billion share buyback program that will commence upon completion of the existing program in which $305 million remains.

Bed Bath & Beyond, based in Union, New Jersey, reported a decline in second-quarter net earnings to $201.7 million from $224 million last year.

Earnings for the quarter were $1.21 per share, compared with $1.17 per share last year, reflecting a lower share count. On average, 24 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.21 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's sales for the quarter rose 1.7 percent to $3 billion from $2.95 billion a year ago. Same-store sales were up 0.7 percent.

Twenty-one analysts had a consensus sales estimate of $3.03 billion for the quarter.

Bed Bath & Beyond has been battling with weak margins. Its selling and administrative expenses increased to $790.8 million from $765.3 million last year, and interest expense was higher by about $15 million.

For the third quarter, the company expects earnings of $1.14 to $1.21 per share, while analysts expect $1.19 per share.

Comparable sales are expected to increase 1 percent to 3 percent in the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2015, the company said.

Bed Bath & Beyond continues to expect full-year earnings-per-share between a relatively flat and a mid-single digit percentage increase.

BBBY closed Thursday at $59.33, down $0.51 or 0.85%, on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock dropped $0.58 or 0.98% at $58.75.