Discounter’s profit rises 32%

TJX Cos. said its fiscal third-quarter net income rose 32% as shoppers looked for bargains at the discount retailer’s chains.

The Framingham, Mass., company, which operates stores that include T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, also boosted its outlook for the fourth quarter and full year.

The company said it earned $347.8 million, or 81 cents a share, in the three-month period ended Oct. 31. That compares with $235.8 million, or 58 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue climbed 10% to $5.24 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected TJX to earn 80 cents a share on revenue of $5.25 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year, a key barometer of a retailer’s health, increased 7%.

TJX expects that sales at its stores open at least a year will rise 5% to 7% in the fourth quarter and that it will earn 65 cents to 71 cents a share.

The company is forecasting profit for the year of $2.55 to $2.61 a share, based on an expectation that sales at stores open at least a year will rise 5%.

But TJX shares fell 61 cents, or 1.5%, to $38.91 as investors questioned whether the company could hold on to shoppers once the economy improves.