Framingham-Based TJX Surpasses $30 Billion in Sales, 6% Growth in 2015

Framingham-based TJX Companies, Inc., the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide, announced it surpassed $30 billion in sales in 2015.

The company saw sales increase in the fourth quarter and overall for the year. The company opened new stores in 2015, and for the 20th consecutive year the company has raised the dividend.

For the 52-week fiscal year, which ended January 30, 2016, net sales were $30.9 billion, a 6 percent increase over last year.

The company, with its world-wide headquarters in Framingham, announced sales and earnings results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year today, Feb. 24.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2016 increased 8 percent to $9.0 billion and consolidated comparable store sales increased 6 percent over last year’s 4 percent increase.

Net income for the fourth quarter was $666 million.

“We are extremely pleased to end another strong year with terrific fourth quarter results! Our fourth quarter 6 percent comp growth and 6 percent increase in earnings per share significantly exceeded our expectations,” said TJX Corp. CEO & President Ernie Herrman said.

“Once again, customer traffic drove our entire consolidated comp increase. It was also the primary driver of our comp increases at every division in the fourth quarter and full year as we continued delivering consumers a differentiated offering at extreme value. We are convinced that we are gaining market share profitably around the world. We were particularly pleased that our overall merchandise margin was up in the fourth quarter while we continued to offer shoppers outstanding values,” said Herrman.

“ For the full year, we were thrilled to surpass $30 billion in sales, achieve consolidated comp sales growth of 5 percent, and deliver above-plan EPS growth. The year 2015 marks our 20th consecutive year of increases in comp sales and EPS! We have sustained profitable growth through many types of economic and retail climates and in different regions around the world, and we have great confidence in the future,’ said Herrman.

“The year is off to a strong start and we have many initiatives planned to continue driving sales and traffic. Our business is very healthy, and similar to last year, our plans for earnings per share growth reflect the negative impact of foreign currency and our previously announced wage initiative. We plan to continue to balance our growth with investments, develop new seeds for growth, and strengthen our leadership positions across the globe. We now operate in nine countries, across three continents, and are excited about the opportunities we see both in our existing regions and new international markets,” said Herrman.

“As always, we have a management team that is laser focused on achieving its plans and passionate about surpassing them. We are confident that we are making the right decisions and investments today that position us extremely well to continue capturing market share and reach $40 billion and beyond,” said the CEO.

TJX Corp intends to increase the regular quarterly dividend on its common stock to be declared in March 2016 and payable in June 2016 to $.26 per share, subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors.

This increase would represent a 24 percent increase in the current per share dividend and mark the 20th consecutive year that the Company has raised the dividend.

Over this period of time, the Company’s dividend has grown at a compound annual rate of 23 percent.

The Company also announced today, Feb. 24, its plan to repurchase approximately $1.5 to $2.0 billion of TJX stock during the fiscal year ending January 28, 2017.

With $1.5 billion remaining at Fiscal 2016 year end under the Company’s existing stock repurchase program, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase program that authorizes the repurchase of up to an additional $2.0 billion of TJX common stock from time to time.

The new authorization represents approximately 4 percent of the Company’s outstanding shares at current prices.

The new stock repurchase program marks the 17th program approved by the Board since 1997.

Over this period, the Company has spent approximately $16.3 billion on the repurchase of TJX stock. During the fourth quarter, the Company spent a total of $510 million to repurchase TJX stock, retiring 7.3 million shares. In Fiscal 2016, the Company spent a total of $1.8 billion to repurchase TJX stock, retiring 26.5 million shares.

Under the Company’s repurchase plans, share repurchases may be made from time to time in market or private transactions and may include derivative transactions. The repurchase program announced today has no time limit and may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

“Our business continues to generate tremendous amounts of cash and excellent financial returns. In Fiscal 2017, we plan to continue investing to support our growth while distributing cash to our shareholders. In addition to investing in our Associates, our capital spending plans include new stores, store remodels, and our supply chain and infrastructure. Simultaneously, we plan to significantly increase our regular quarterly dividend and will continue to buy back shares at significant levels. All of these actions underscore our confidence in our ability to continue delivering strong, profitable sales across all of our divisions and cash flow that enables us to both fund our continued growth and return value to our shareholders,” said Herrman.

In the U.S., TJ Maxx stores increased from 1,119 to 1,156. Marshalls stores grew from 975 to 1,007 and HomeGoods stores increased from 487 to 526.

The number of stores in Canada and Europe also increased.

The TJX Companies, Inc. is an off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide.

As of January 30, 2016, the end of the Company’s fiscal year, the Company operated a total of 3,614 stores in nine countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Australia, and three e-commerce sites.

The company’s worldwide headquarters is in Framingham.