Discount retailer Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) saw its shares rise in premarket trade on Wednesday after reporting market-beating second quarter results and gave an upbeat outlook.
In the quarter to July 29, net income was US$672ml, or US$1.22 a share, compared with US$680mln, or US$1.16 a share, in the same period a year ago.
Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to US$1.23, beating market expectations for US$1.19. Revenue rose 1.6% to US$16.43bn from US$16.17 bn, beating consensus of US$16.27bn.
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Target to nearly double number of small-format stores
Same-store sales increased 1.3%, beating expectations of 0.3% growth, as traffic rose 2.1%.
For 2017, the company raised its adjusted EPS outlook to US$4.34 to US$4.54, compared with previous guidance of "above the midpoint" of a US$3.80 to US$4.20 range.
"In particular, we are pleased that second-quarter traffic increased more than 2 percent, reflecting growth in both our store and digital channels," said chief executive Brian Cornell.
The company said it will remodel more than 100 stores and nearly double the number of small-format stores.
In premarket trade, its shares were up 5.8% at US$57.50.