Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) is up 6.5% after hours following its beat on Q4 profits, with results generally matching up with its mid-January holiday sales update, and high-side guidance for the coming year’s earnings.
Net sales were down 4.7%; excluding the 53rd week in 2017, they were up 0.1%. Comparable sales rose 0.1%.
Comparable sales dropped 1.6% in Full-Price due to softer traffic in full-line stores. Off-Price comparable sales rose 4%, in line with company guidance.
Gross profit margin of 35.1% was down 33 basis points due to higher markdowns and elevated promotions amid the softer full-price sales.
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Net earnings rose to $248M from $151M mainly due to tax reform; EBIT dipped to $333M from $350M (in both periods making up 7.6% of net sales).
For 2019, it’s guiding to net sales growth of 1-2%, with mid- to high-single-digit growth in credit card revenues; EBIT of $915M-$970M, with a margin of 5.9-6.1%, and EPS of $3.65-$3.90 (vs. consensus for $3.67).
Petrobras (PBR) is expanding its divestment program and has “bold” plans for future sales, CEO Roberto Castillo Branco said in today’s earnings conference call.
Shallow water and onshore fields are among the first on the block, while PBR hopes to complete the sale of its TAG pipeline unit “soon” and several options are being considered for the future of distribution unit Petrobras Distribuidora, executives said.
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In some of his most assertive comments on the need to slim down the big company, Castillo Branco said debt reduction could occur through various initiatives, the most important of which are “a more aggressive divestment program and getting out of assets where we’re not a natural owner. Really, get out – not sell part of the asset.”
The company can reduce its ratio of net debt to EBITDA to 1.5x or even to 1x with the help of divestments, the CEO said; the ratio at the end of Q4 was 2.34x.
