Profit down for J.C. Penney, up at Home Depot

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2000 | 11:32 a.m.

SUN NEWS SERVICES

J.C. Penney Co. of Plano, Texas, today said its fiscal second-quarter profit plunged 90 percent because of lower sales and price markdowns at its department stores, and second-half earnings may be hurt if slow sales persist.

Lower-than-expected demand for clothing, housewares and other goods forced J.C. Penney to cut prices, reducing profit on each sale.

Profit from operations in the three months ended July 29 fell to $11 million, or 1 cent a share, from $112 million, or 40 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 1.6 percent to $7.43 billion from $7.31 billion, Penney said.

Separately, second-quarter earnings rose 23 percent at the Home Depot as the world's largest home improvement chain avoided slumping sales that have battered other retailers.

Net income for the three months ending June 30 was $838 million, or 36 cents per share, in line with the forecast of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial.

For the same period in 1999, Atlanta-based Home Depot earned $679 million or 29 cents per share, the company said.