Target’s Net Income Increases 14%

Target Corp. said fourth-quarter profit rose 14% on holiday sales growth.

Net income rose to $939 million, or $1.06 a share, from $825 million, or 91 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 12% to $17 billion, Minneapolis-based Target said.

Same-store sales rose 4.2%, the smallest gain this year, a sign Target’s growth is slowing.

The company introduced lines of clothing and focused on selling digital cameras and televisions during the holidays. Chief Executive Robert Ulrich is adding merchandise including apparel and accessories by British designer Luella Bartley, which helped Target outperform Wal-Mart in comparable-store sales last year.

The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was for earnings per share of $1.05.

Shares of Target fell $1.21, or 2.2%, to $54.59.