May Department Stores’ Profit Climbs

May Department Stores Co. on Thursday said fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose only slightly after the retailing industry suffered its slowest holiday season in at least five years.

Meanwhile, Office Depot Inc. and catalog retailer Spiegel Group Inc. reported lower fourth-quarter profits and said a slowing U.S. economy will crimp future results.

May, whose chains include Hecht’s, Lord & Taylor and Robinson May, is the first major retailer to report results for the quarter. It said net income for the period ended Feb. 3 rose to $518 million, or $1.59 a share, from $513 million or $1.45 a year ago.

Revenue increased 8% to $5 billion. May slashed prices to move leftover holiday goods, reducing the amount of profit made on each sale.

Office Depot, the nation’s largest office products retailer, said its fourth-quarter operating profit fell sharply to 6 cents a share from 21 cents a year ago, missing diminished expectations of 9 cents, as it continues efforts to restructure and keep its existing base of stores profitable.

Sales rose 12% to $3 billion, while sales at its retail stores open at least one year fell 5%, hit by soft sales of products such as desktop and laptop computers.

The Delray Beach, Fla., company also warned that first-quarter sales were trailing those of a year earlier. It expects first-quarter profit of 19 cents to 22 cents a share, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 22 cents.

Office Depot slashed prices to spur sales after falling stock markets and higher energy costs dampened consumer spending.

Spiegel said profit fell 12% to $65.4 million, or 50 cents a share, hurt by slow sales in its Eddie Bauer unit. Revenue rose 7% to $1.27 billion, while sales at Eddie Bauer stores fell 9%.

The Downers Grove, Ill.-based company said it sees results well below analysts’ forecasts in the first half of fiscal 2001 because of slower sales growth and higher charge-offs in its credit business amid a slowing economy.

Shares of May fell 28 cents to close at $38.11, and Office Depot fell 36 cents to close at $9.09, on the New York Stock Exchange. Spiegel closed up 6 cents at $7.56 on Nasdaq.

At a Glance

Other earnings, excluding one-time gains or charges unless noted, include:

* Analog Devices Inc. said earnings grew 102% to $190.2 million, or 50 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter, matching diminished expectations. The chip maker’s sales rose 58% to $772.3 million.

* Charter Communications Inc. reported a fourth-quarter loss of $241.1 million, or $1.03 a share, as it increased spending to upgrade its systems for fast Internet service and digital TV. The company had been expected to lose 98 cents, according to the average of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. Charter didn’t provide year-earlier figures. Sales grew 16% to $893.9 million.

* Loral Space & Communications Ltd. reported a fourth-quarter operating loss of $75.2 million, or 25 cents a share, before a huge $1.01-billion charge to write down the value of its investment in struggling Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. In the year-ago quarter, Loral had an operating loss of $84.6 million, or 29 cents, excluding a $38.2 million charge for Globalstar. Despite the loss, Loral forecast a rise of more than 50% in operating cash flow margins this year.

* Novell Inc., a network-softwar e maker, said fiscal first-quarter profit plunged to $3.27 million, or 1 cent a share down from $44.8 million, or 13 cents, a year ago, as sales fell 22% to $245 million. The results were slightly better than the break-even figure analysts expected. Novell also lowered its forecasts for fiscal 2001 due to slowing corporate spending on information technology.

* Priceline.com Inc. said its fourth-quarter operating loss widened to $25 million, or 15 cents a share, from $10 million, or 6 cents, a year ago. That was much worse than the 7-cent loss analysts expected. Revenue rose 35% to $228.2 million. The company also warned that its first-quarter loss will reach 5 cents to 7 cents a share, rather than the 2 cents analysts anticipated.

* Human Genome Sciences Inc. said its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $6 million, or 5 cents a share, from $18 million, or 19 cents, a year ago. The latest results include a $5.9-million gain from the sale of stock and reflect a change in accounting standards, the biotechnology company said. Revenue surged to $5.3 million from $862,000. Human Genome said its loss for the year will exceed analyst expectations as it boosts spending on research and development and increases its work force by about half.

* World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. posted a 25% drop in fiscal third-quarter earnings to $11.7 million, or 16 cents a share, due in part to start-up costs for XFL, its professional football league. The producer of wrestling stars “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock and Chyna said revenue rose 13% to $111.2 million on strong performance from its live and televised businesses.