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Nordstrom's post net earnings of $104.5mn - increases 31% dividend, Q1 2005

18 May '05

4 min read

Expansion Update
During the first quarter Nordstrom opened one full-line store at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, Ga. and relocated a Rack store in Portland, Ore. The company plans to open three additional full-line stores this year. A store in San Antonio, Texas at the La Cantera Shopping Center and a store in Irvine, Calif. at The Irvine Spectrum will open in September. The final opening of the year will be in November in Dallas, Texas at NorthPark Center. Gross square footage for the year is expected to increase approximately 2 percent, from 19,550,000 to 20,019,000.

Quarterly Dividend
The company's Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, an increase of 31 percent or $0.04 per share from prior quarters, payable on June 15, 2005, to shareholders of record on May 31, 2005.

Share Repurchase
As part of its recently announced share repurchase program, Nordstrom repurchased approximately 887,000 shares of common stock during the first quarter for a total of $47.7 million. This did not materially impact earnings per share for the quarter, as the impact on weighted average shares outstanding was insignificant.

2005 Outlook
For the fiscal year ending January 28, 2006, the company is raising its prior earnings per share outlook of $3.25-$3.35 to $3.40-$3.50. This represents a 20 to 25 percent increase over the prior year, excluding the lease adjustment from 2004 earnings per share. For the second quarter,company is raising its prior earnings per share outlook of $3.25-$3.35 to $3.40-$3.50. This represents a 20 to 25 percent increase over the prior year, excluding the lease adjustment from 2004 earnings per share. For the second quarter, the company expects low single digit same-store sales growth and earnings per share in the range of $0.85-$0.90.

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