Best Buy reports double-digit earnings growth for quarter
Published Sep 19 2001
Citing sales growth of high-margin digital products, Best Buy
Co. on Tuesday reported a 21 percent jump in second-quarter
earnings, beating Wall Street estimates.
Comparable store sales -- which measure sales in stores open
at least a year -- climbed 2.8 percent during the quarter ended
Sept. 1. The Eden Prairie-based retailer said it saw sales gains
in entertainment software and consumer electronics, while
consumer demand for personal computers remained soft.
Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer,
completed the acquisition of Musicland in February.
Shares of Best Buy rose $1.37, or 3 percent, to $49.37 on
Tuesday.
Last week's terrorist attacks led the company to briefly close
100 Best Buy stores and 700 Musicland stores. Its Sam Goody
music and video store at the World Trade Center was destroyed,
and the company is offering its employees jobs at its other New
York City sites. The attacks led to a "modest" decline in sales
last week, CEO Richard Schulze said.
Best Buy company said it expects third-quarter earnings to be
in the range of 34 to 36 cents per share, which is on target with
what analysts had projected earlier.
-- Ann Merrill is at amerrill@startribune.com .
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