Target March sales figure up 7.3 percent

NEW YORK — Target Corp. said Thursday a key sales figure rose a better-than-expected 7.3 percent in March, helped by warm weather.

The discounter, with headquarters in Minneapolis, boosted its first-quarter earnings outlook based on solid results.

The sales results were above analysts’ expectations for a 5.4 percent increase, according to Thomson Reuters. The figure is based on revenue in stores opened at least one year. The metric is a key gauge of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

Total sales during the five-week period ended March 31 were $6.43 billion, an increase of 7.9 percent from $5.96 billion in the year-ago period.

“March sales were well above our expectations, reflecting a healthy underlying trend combined with the benefit of an earlier Easter and favorable weather this year,” said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive of Target in a statement.

The company said that it expects revenue at stores opened at least a year to rise anywhere from 5 to 6 percent for the first quarter.

Target now believes that earnings per share will be in the range of $1.04 to $1.10 per share, up from prior guidance of 97 cents to $1.07 per share. Analysts had expected 98 cents per share, according to FactSet.

Shares of the company rose 70 cents to $58.52 in premarket trading.