(AOF) – Target, whose shares climbed 6% in pre-market trading, reassured after the publication of its fourth quarter accounts. The American retailer posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.98 compared to $1.89 a year earlier and a consensus of $2.42. Its comparable sales fell by 4.4% over the period to $31.9 billion, compared to -4.6% expected. Online sales fell by 0.7% after a fall of 6% in the previous quarter.
Annual adjusted earnings per share are expected between $8.60 and $9.60, compared to a consensus of $9.15. Like-for-like revenues are expected to be stable at worst and up 2% at best.
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Concerns remain
According to the Federation of Specialized Trade, Procos, in October 2022, activity fell by 1.5% year-on-year. However, the activity of beauty and health (+ 5.2%) and specialized food (+ 3.5%) are dynamic compared to October 2021. Attendance at points of sale was very impacted by the problems fuel and unfavorable weather. Compared to October 2019, a pre-covid year, the drop in attendance is very sharp (-20.9% in October). Shopping centers and the outskirts are more impacted than city centers with a gap of four to five points.
There are several reasons for concern for the future. The players are experiencing a very significant jaws effect given the increase in their operating costs while the evolution of demand is very uncertain. Very few brands can pass on the increase in their costs in sales prices. The federation therefore asks, among other things, to limit the indexation of the Commercial Rent Index to + 3.5% for the rents of all companies in 2023. It also invokes an absolute emergency: cap the price of energy for 2023 and retroact on contracts already signed to prevent the rate of failures from accelerating.