Bed Bath & Beyond's 4Q profit up nearly 7 percent

UNION, N.J. (AP) -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported Wednesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter net income increased nearly 7 percent with help from recent acquisitions.

The company, based in Union, N.J., runs Bed Bath & Beyond, Cost Plus World Market and several other retail chains.

It earned $373.9 million, or $1.68 per share, for the period that ended March 2. That is compared with $351 million, or $1.48 per share, in the same quarter of the prior year. Revenue increased almost 25 percent to $3.4 billion from $2.73 billion, helped by the acquisitions.

The quarter's results met the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet.

Bed Bath & Beyond has recently acquired a number of businesses to help beef up its growth potential. The company bought distributor Linen Holdings and home goods chain World Market in June of 2012. Both are excluded from the company's measure of revenue from established stores for the period.

The company said its revenue from stores open at least a year, considered a key indicator of financial performance as it strips away the impact of recently acquired, opened or closed sites, increased 2.5 percent for the fourth quarter. That exceeded analyst forecasts of a 2.2 percent increase, according to FactSet.

The company, which also runs the buybuy Baby, Christmas Tree Shops and Harmon chains, has 1,471 stores.

Bed Bath & Beyond also said Wednesday that it expects to earn 88 to 94 cents per share for its fiscal first quarter; analysts had forecast earnings of 95 cents per share.

The company's stock jumped 2 percent in after-hours trading to $66.80. It added a dollar to close regular trading at $65.50.