NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nordstrom Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as sales surged over the holidays, and the upscale retailer forecast even higher profit and sales for the new fiscal year just underway.
Nordstrom said it expects same-store sales, at outlets open at least a year, to increase between 2 percent and 4 percent in fiscal 2011 and forecast earnings of $2.95 to $3.10 per share.
Nordstrom said on Thursday its net profit rose 34.9 percent from a year earlier to $232 million, or $1.04 a share, in the fourth quarter ended January 29. Wall Street analysts on average were expecting $1 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Quarterly revenue grew 10.9 percent to $2.82 billion, helped by a 6.7 percent rise in same-store sales.
Nordstrom said it was buying online private sale marketplace HauteLook for $180 million in Nordstrom stock.
Nordstrom shares fell 2.9 percent in after-hours trading from a close of $46.48 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Richard Chang)
