Edmond English, President and Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies, Inc., commented, "We were generally pleased with the lift in sales that we saw in April, following softer sales in March. That said, the unseasonably cold weather that prevailed in New England and the Midwest as the month progressed caused trends to slow. With first quarter consolidated comparable store sales at the low end of our expectations, combined with higher-than-planned markdown activity at Marmaxx and Winners, we now expect first quarter earnings per share to come in slightly below the low end of our previously stated range of $.32 - $.34. With our open-to-buy position across our divisions in even better shape than this time last year, I am very encouraged about our ability to flow fresh, exciting merchandise to our stores, as well as our business prospects, as we enter the summer selling season."
The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The Company operates 773 T.J. Maxx, 699 Marshalls, 220 HomeGoods, and 137 A.J. Wright stores, as well as 34 Bob's Stores, in the United States. In Canada, the Company operates 169 Winners and 44 HomeSense stores, and in Europe, 175 T.K. Maxx stores. TJX's press releases and financial information are also available on the Internet at www.tjx.com.
A recorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX's April 2005 sales results, operations and business trends is available via the Internet at www.tjx.com, or by calling (703) 736-7248 through Thursday, May 12, 2005. The Company expects to release its May 2005 sales results on Thursday, June 2, 2005, at approximately 8:15 a.m. ET. Concurrent with that press release, a recorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX's May sales results, operations and business trends will be available via the Internet at www.tjx.com, or by calling (703) 736-7248 through Thursday, June 9, 2005. Additionally, the Company expects to release its first quarter earnings on Tuesday, May 17, 2005, before 9:30 a.m. ET. At 11:00 a.m. ET that day, Edmond English, President and Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies, will hold a conference call with stock analysts to discuss the Company's first quarter fiscal 2006 results. A real-time webcast of the call will be available at www.tjx.com. A replay of the call will also be available at www.tjx.com or by dialing 800-873-2072 through Tuesday, May 24, 2005. Archived versions of the Company's recorded messages and conference calls are available at www.tjx.com after they are no longer available by telephone.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENTS UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Various statements made in this release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. All statements that address activities, events or developments that we intend, expect or believe may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The following are some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: our ability to continue successful expansion of our store base; risks of expansion; our ability to successfully implement our opportunistic inventory strategies and to effectively manage our inventories; consumer confidence, demand, spending habits and buying preferences; effects of unseasonable weather; competitive factors; factors affecting availability of store and distribution center locations on suitable terms; factors affecting our recruitment and employment of associates; factors affecting expenses; success of our acquisition and divestiture activities; our ability to successfully implement technologies and systems; our ability to continue to generate adequate cash flows; general economic conditions; potential disruptions due to wars, natural disasters and other events beyond our control; changes in currency and exchange rates; import risks; adverse outcomes for any significant litigation; changes in laws and regulations and accounting rules and principles; effectiveness of internal controls; and other factors that may be described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise our forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied in such statements will not be realized.
