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UNITED STATES BUREAU OF THE CENSUS

Economic and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce


ADVANCE DATA ON LARGE RETAILERS` PROFITS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER 1999

JULY 1999-------------------Released 10 a.m. (EDT), Tuesday, July 13, 1999 (CB99-133)
Contact: Ronald H. Lee (301) 457-3343 or Frank Hartman (301) 457-3379.

Availability | Order & Release | QFR Program |

Except where noted, all figures in text and tables are not seasonally adjusted.
Sales and after-tax profits data for all manufacturing are presented in Table 1 on both a seasonally adjusted and an unadjusted basis. Seasonally adjusted historical data for this series, as well as for total durable and total nondurable manufacturing, are presented in Table 3. Data for individual manufacturing industries are not seasonally adjusted.

CHART 1:
[CHART 1: Large Retailers' After-Tax Profits.]
Chart 2:
[Retail Profits Per Dollar of Sales]

After-tax profits for retail corporations with assets of $50 million and over averaged 2.3 cents per dollar of sales for the first quarter of 1999, down 0.8 (+\-0.1) cents from the preceding quarter, but up 0.2 (+\-0.1) cents from the same quarter in 1998, according to advance data from the Commerce Department`s Bureau of the Census.

For the first quarter of 1999, these large retail corporations reported after-tax profits of $6.7 billion, down $3.1 (+\-0.2) billion from the preceding quarter, but up $1.1 (+\-0.2) billion from the same quarter a year ago. The annual rate of after-tax return on stockholders` equity was 12.7 percent, down 6.4 percent (+\-0.5%) when compared to the fourth quarter of 1998, but up 1.2 percent (+\-0.3%) from the first quarter of 1998.

First quarter 1999 sales were $287.1 billion, down $27.6 billion or 8.8 percent (+\-1.2%) from last quarter, but up $23.8 billion or 9.0 percent (+\-1.6%) from the first quarter of 1998.

These data are based on quarterly financial reports obtained from 492 corporations. The figures in this release are not seasonally adjusted. More detailed information on the retail trade sector for the first quarter will be published in the Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade Corporations Second Quarter 1999 which is scheduled for release on September 13, 1999.

EXPLANATORY NOTES:

This quarter`s publication contains data revised due to the reclassification of corporations by industry, and revisions that reflect respondents` corrections of data submitted subsequent to original publication.

The data presented in this report are estimated from a sample survey and therefore are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling variability such as response error, nonreporting, and coverage errors. Estimates of sampling variability are presented in the publication. A statement such as "up 2.5 (+\-0.1) cents," appearing in the text, indicates the range (+2.4 to +2.6 cents) in which the actual change is likely to have occurred. The range given for the change is a 90 percent confidence interval that accounts only for sampling variability. If the range had contained zero (0), it would have been uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change would not have been statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. The quarterly publication includes more detailed explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability, along with additional measures of sampling variability.

AVAILABILITY:

The complete report, Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade Corporations, is available for download, under "Products: Publication", at <http://www.census.gov/csd/qfr/>.

This press release is available in page image formatDownload Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf). This press release is available on the day of issue through the Department of Commerce`s on-line Economic Bulletin Board (202-482-1986) and on the Internet (http://www.census.gov/csd/www/qfr.html).

The publication becomes available for sale approximately two weeks from the date of this release from the Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954 (202-512-1800). The cost for an annual subscription is $34 domestic and $42.50 foreign. [Remittances from foreign countries must be by international money order or by draft on a U.S. bank.]

Files are also available on 3.5 inch flexible diskettes from U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (MS1921), P.O. Box 277943, Atlanta, GA 30384-7943 (301-763-INFO(4636)). The annual subscription cost is $84; $66 for the first diskette and $6 for each additional diskette.

Questions regarding this report (or program) should be directed to Ronald H. Lee (301) 457-3343 or Frank Hartman (301) 457-3379.

TABLE 1. INCOME STATEMENT FOR RETAIL TRADE CORPORATIONS WITH ASSETS OF $50 MILLION AND OVER 


 
                                                     1Q      4Q       1Q
                  Item                             1999    1998(1)  1998(1)
                                                      (million dollars)

Net sales, receipts, and operating revenues.... 287,109  314,668  263,348
Less: Depreciation, depletion, and amortization   6,112    5,938    5,593
Less: All other operating costs and expenses... 267,847  290,019  246,416
                                                
  Income (or loss) from operations.............  13,151   18,711   11,339

Interest Expense ..............................   3,510    3,538    3,187
All other nonoperating income (expense)........   1,235      697    1,050 

  Income (or loss) before income taxes.........  10,876   15,870    9,202

Less: Provision for current and deferred         
  domestic income taxes........................   4,201    6,143    3,650
                                                 
  Income (or loss) after income taxes..........   6,675    9,727    5,552
                                                 
Cash dividends charged to retained earnings                              
  in current quarter...........................   1,530    1,529    1,339
                                                 
  Net income retained in business..............   5,145    8,198    4,213
                                                 
Retained earnings at beginning of quarter...... 136,436  126,793  117,369
Other direct credits (or charges) to             
  retained earnings (net)......................   (842)    (506)  (1,218)
                                                            
Retained earnings at end of quarter............ 140,739  134,485  120,364
(1) Revised.

SOURCE: Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade Corporations--QFR-99-2.

TABLE 2. INCOME STATEMENT IN RATIO FORMAT FOR RETAIL TRADE CORPORATIONS WITH ASSETS OF $50 MILLION AND OVER 


 
                                                     1Q     4Q       1Q
                  Item                             1999   1998(1)  1998(1)
                                                          (cents)

Net sales, receipts, and operating revenues....   100.0   100.0    100.0
Less: Depreciation, depletion, and amortization     2.1     1.9      2.1
Less: All other operating costs and expenses...    93.3    92.2     93.6
                                                   
  Income (or loss) from operations.............     4.6     5.9      4.3

Interest Expense ..............................     1.2     1.1      1.2                         
All other nonoperating income (expense)........     0.4     0.2      0.4 
                                                  
  Income (or loss) before income taxes.........     3.8     5.0      3.5
                                                  
Less: Provision for current and deferred            
  domestic income taxes........................     1.5     2.0      1.4 
                                                    
  Income (or loss) after income taxes..........     2.3     3.1      2.1
(1) Revised.

SOURCE: Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade Corporations--QFR-99-2, July 1999. U.S. Bureau of the Census, July 1999.

TABLE 3. OPERATING RATIOS FOR RETAIL TRADE CORPORATIONS WITH ASSETS OF $50 MILLION AND OVER 


                                                     1Q      4Q       1Q
                  Item                             1999    1998(1)  1998(1)
                                                          (percent)

Annual rate of profit on stockholders` equity
  at end of period:
    Before income taxes.........................  20.69   31.22    19.07
    After income taxes..........................  12.70   19.14    11.51
                                                            
Annual rate of profit on total assets:                                  
    Before income taxes.........................   7.43   11.00     6.82
    After income taxes..........................   4.56    6.74     4.11
(1) Revised.

SOURCE: Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade Corporations--QFR-99-2, July 1999. U.S. Bureau of the Census, July 1999.

ORDER INFORMATION

The publication becomes available for sale approximately two weeks from the date of this release from the Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburg, PA 15250-7954 (202-512-1800). The annual subscription rate is $34, (foriegn customers, $42.50 on an international money order or by draft on a U.S. bank). Single publication copies are $10 and $12.50, respectively and are available at the Bureau of the Census, (301) 763-INFO(4636).

Electronic files are also available on 3.5 inch flexible diskettes from U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, (MS1921), P.O. Box 277943, Atlanta, GA 30384-7943 (301-763-INFO(4636)). The annual subscription cost is $84; $66 for the first diskette and $6 for each additional diskette.

This report is also available on the day of issue through the Department of Commerce`s on-line Economic Bulletin Board (N-8-1) (202-482-1986).

Schedule of Advance Data Release Dates--1999
[Economic Indicator Release Schedule]

Quarter      Manufacturing, Mining, and Wholesale Trade   Retail Trade

First 1999                             --                July 13, 1999
Second 1999                    September 13, 1999     October 13, 1999
Third 1999                      December 13, 1999

Questions concerning this advance report should be directed to Contact: Ronald H. Lee (301) 457-3343 or Frank Hartman (301) 457-3379.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Company Statistics Division
Maintained by Traci Gillespie-Brown
Revised Monday, 01-Mar-2004 09:14:55 EST.

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