Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., a chain of domestic merchandise retail stores, has witnessed strong sales growth from the customer-facing digital channels in the second quarter of fiscal 2018. The company has reported net earnings of $.36 per diluted share ($48.6 mn), compared with $.67 per diluted share ($94.2 mn) for the second quarter of fiscal 2017.
During the reported period, the US-based company re-purchased approximately $41 mn of its common stock, representing approximately 2.1 mn shares, under its existing $2.5 bn share repurchase program. As of September 1, 2018, the programme had a remaining balance of approximately $1.4 bn, the company said.
The company ended the second quarter with approximately $1.1 bn in cash and investment balances, an increase of approximately $532 mn, compared with approximately $563 mn at the end of the second quarter of 2017. Based on its planning assumptions for fiscal 2018, the company has slightly reduced its net sales model, with comparable sales to be relatively flat to last year, and net earnings per diluted share for the full year to be at the low end of its previously modeled range, at about $2.00.
In connection with its three-year financial goals that comprise its vision for 2020, the company remains on track to achieve moderating declines in operating profit and net earnings per diluted share in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, and to achieve growth in net earnings per diluted share by fiscal 2020.
