Major Retailers See Substantial 2nd-Quarter Growth

Four big retailers announced substantial earnings gains for the second quarter Tuesday, reflecting the strength of merchants who emphasize value.

The nation’s biggest store owner, discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said its earnings rose 14%. Dayton Hudson Corp. said its earnings more than doubled and J. C. Penney Co. announced a 17.4% gain.

Home Depot Inc., the successful home improvement chain, said earnings rose 32%.

The second quarter was generally good for discounters and retailers of merchandise for the home. Apparel sales were uneven during the quarter, but Penney, known for valued-priced clothes, and department store operators including Dayton Hudson fared better than specialty apparel companies.

* Wal-Mart said it earned $564.8 million, or 25 cents a share, in the quarter ended July 31, up from $495.9 million, or 22 cents a share, in the same period last year.

Sales totaled $19.94 billion, up from $16.24 billion.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company’s discount stores continued to perform strongly, with sales from stores open at least a year--a closely watched measure of a retailer’s strength--rising 9.7%.

However, the Sam’s Club warehouse division was hurt by continuing problems in that sector of the retailing business. Its sales from stores open at least a year--also known as same-store sales--were down 3.6%.

The results were in the mid-range of Wall Street expectations. Wal-Mart’s stock rose 50 cents to $24.25 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.

* Dayton Hudson reported a profit of $49 million, or 62 cents a share, in the quarter ended July 30, up from $24 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales rose 12% to $4.8 billion, from $4.29 billion.

The Minneapolis-based retailer’s same-store sales rose 6%.

The company’s Target discount stores led other divisions in profit.

“Target performed better than expected, and Mervyn’s and the department store division performed as expected,” said Robert Ulrich, Dayton Hudson chairman and chief executive.

Mervyn’s is a clothing store chain. The department stores include Dayton’s, Hudson’s and Marshall Field.

Dayton Hudson’s results were in the high end of analysts’ expectations, and the company’s stock rose $1.75 a share to $85.25 on the NYSE.

* J.C. Penney had net income of $132 million, or 51 cents a share, on sales of $4.24 billion in the quarter ended July 30. That compares to $112 million, or 42 cents a share, on sales of $3.96 billion in the second quarter of 1993.

Sales rose to $4.2 billion from $4.0 billion.

The Plano, Tex.-based company has been one of the nation’s most successful apparel retailers and has done well since the recession, while many other store owners have had bumpy sales at best.

But second-quarter results were at the low end of analyst expectations, and the company’s stock slipped $1.75 a share to $47.125 on the NYSE.

* Atlanta-based Home Depot said it earned $178 million, or 39 cents a share, a 32% increase over $134.5 million, or 30 cents a share, in the same period last year.

Sales at the home improvement retail chain totaled $3.3 billion, up 34% from $2.5 billion.

Results were at the high end of expectations, and Home Depot’s stock picked up $2.375 a share to close at $44.375 on the NYSE.

The company has opened 58 new stores and increased overall selling space by 34% since the end of the second quarter of 1993.