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Empresas y finanzas

Best Buy shares up on fourth-quarter results


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best Buy Co posted a 23 percent drop in quarterly profit on Thursday, but its adjusted results topped Wall Street estimates as the retailer said it got a boost from stronger-than-expected consumer demand.

    While the top U.S. specialty consumer electronics retailer expects consumer spending to remain challenging, it forecast full-year earnings above current Wall Street estimates.

    Shares rose 7.9 percent to $36.10 before the opening bell.

    Earnings came to $570 million, or $1.35 a share, for the fourth quarter ended February 28, down from $737 million, or $1.71 a share, a year earlier.

    Excluding restructuring and impairment charges, it said adjusted earnings were $1.61 per share. Analysts, on average, had been expecting it to earn $1.40 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

    Revenue rose 10 percent to $14.7 billion, helped by the opening of new stores and the inclusion of its European operations. Sales at stores open at least 14 months, or same-store sales, fell 4.9 percent.

    Best Buy forecast earnings of $2.50 to $2.90 per share for its current fiscal year, while analysts, on average, were expecting $2.45 per share.

    (Reporting by Nicole Maestri, editing by Dave Zimmerman)