Penney (j.c.)

Penney is one of the publicly traded companies having a good stock performance result. Penney is a fortune 500 stock listed company trading under JCP.

J. C. Penney Company Inc. is one of America's largest department store, catalog, and e-commerce retailers, employing approximately 151,000 associates. As of Jan. 28, 2006, J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. operated 1,019 department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. J.C.Penney is the nation's largest catalog merchant of general merchandise, and jcp.com is one of the largest apparel and home furnishings sites on the Internet.

During the third quarter, comparable department store sales increased 2.5 percent on top of a 2.6 percent increase in last year's period. Sales were positive across the majority of merchandise divisions, and from a regional perspective, the strongest performance continued to be realized from the southeastern and western regions of the country. During the quarter, direct sales declined 0.9 percent, compared to a 3.6 percent increase last year. Sales for jcpenney.com increased more than 25 percent in the third quarter on top of a 30 percent increase last year.

Net interest expense was 41 million in the third quarter, with interest income benefiting principally from higher short-term interest rates on cash balances. The effective income tax rate for continuing operations was 36 percent, in line with previous guidance.

The company currently expects to generate fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations of approximately 1.58 dollars per share. This would result in full year earnings from continuing operations of approximately 3.51 dollars per share an increase of more than 50 percent from the 2.20 dollars per share earned in 2004 with operating profit exceeding 8 percent of sales.

Such forward-looking statements, which reflect the company's current views of future events and financial performance, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the company's actual results to be materially different from planned or expected results. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competition, consumer demand, seasonality, economic conditions, including the price and availability of oil and natural gas, changes in management, retail industry consolidations, acts of terrorism or war, and government activity.

The company is leading manufacturer and marketer of high-quality products for recreational enthusiasts.