TJX returns to the black but store closures still an issue

Photo | Grant Welker The TJX Cos. headquarters in Framingham

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By Sam Bonacci

Framingham’s TJX Cos. reported a turnaround in the first quarter of the 2022 fiscal year, with a 129% increase in net sales to $10.1 billion, but the company’s stock was still down amid ongoing store closures.

In addition to improved overall sales numbers, the company had profits of $534 million and diluted earnings per share of 44 cents, compared to a loss of $887.5 million and negative 74 cents earnings per share in the first quarter of 2021. However, like many retailers, TJX is still reeling from ongoing store closures.

Although TJX’s stores in the U.S. were open for the first quarter, stores in Europe were closed for approximately 76% of the first quarter and stores in Canada were closed for about 25% of the quarter, according to a release distributed this morning. In total, TJX had stores closed for approximately 14% of the first quarter due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The closures in Europe and Canada resulted in sales struggles in both regions, with both bouncing back when compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2021, but lagging well behind pre-pandemic sales from the first quarter of fiscal 2020. TJX estimates these European and Canadian closures may have resulted in approximately $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion in lost sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2022, the company said in the release.

These ongoing struggles and uncertainty may have contributed to a drop in the company’s stock price, despite exceeding overall sales expectations, according to a report from Barron’s. As of 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, the company’s stock is down just under 4% at $68.30 a share.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly said the company's loss in the first quarter of 2021 was $1.3 billion. That loss was actually $887.5 million and the article has been updated to reflect the correct figure.