NEW YORK, USA – MACY’S reported an 11 per cent increase in fourth-quarter profit, but its results missed Wall Street expectations as a string of winter storms chilled sales in January.

The results, released yesterday, come on the heels of a solid holiday shopping season for the Cincinnati-based retailer, which operates more than 840 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores. The department-store chain has been a standout among its peers throughout the economic recovery, as it has benefited from its moves to tailor merchandise to local markets.

But like other retailers, severe winter storms have caused Macy’s to close stores and also kept shoppers at home. At one time during January, 244 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores were shut down because of the weather, and business remained sluggish until Valentine’s Day, Macy’s Chairman, President and CEO Terry Lundgren said in a statement.

Macy’s is still sticking with its annual profit and sales forecast, issued earlier last month, on hopes that business will bounce back in the spring.

“Once warm spring weather arrives and our full assortment of fresh spring merchandise is in place, we believe customers will return to a more normalized pattern of shopping,” he said.

The department store chain said it earned US$811 million, or US$2.16 per share, in the three months that ended February 1. That compares with US$730 million, or US$1.83 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 1.6 per cent to US$9.2 billion.

Analysts were expecting US$2.17 per share on revenue of US$9.28 billion, according to FactSet.

Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 1.4 per cent, below the 2.5 per cent increase that Wall Street analysts expected.

— AP