TJX Cos. Raises 3Q, 2010 Profit Forecasts

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) — TJX Cos., which owns the discount retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, on Monday raised its profit forecast for the third quarter and full year based on improved sales in October at stores open at least a year.

TJX's chains have drawn in cost-conscious shoppers as economic conditions took their toll on consumer spending.

For the third quarter, TJX now expects per-share profit in a range of 77 cents to 79 cents, compared with the 58 cents it earned the year before. That profit range assumes sales at stores open at least a year will grow by 8 percent to 9 percent combined at the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains.

The new third-quarter forecast beats the company's Oct. 8 prediction of 71 cents and 74 cents per share, and analysts' average estimate of 74 cents per share, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

For its 2010 fiscal year, the retailer expects per-share profit in a range of $2.46 to $2.54, compared with $2.08 per share last year. The latest prediction assumes that sales at the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains' at stores open at least a year will grow 4 percent to 5 percent for the year.