Earnings beat! Costs under control going forward!
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Mr. Ellison said the company is starting an early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible associates. He said Penney expects to see a net increase in hiring as the number of full-time associates expected to take advantage of the early retirement incentive will exceed the number of full-time positions affected by the store closures.
Also for the fiscal year ending January 2018, the company guided for adjusted earnings between 40 cents and 65 cents a share, bracketing the average analyst estimate for 56 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.
In all for the quarter, Penney posted a profit of $192 million, or 61 cents a share, compared with a loss of $131 million, or 43 cents, the prior year.
