J.C. Penney (JCP) Holiday Comps Decline 0.8%

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) announced today that its comparable store sales for the combined nine-week November and December period resulted in a (0.8) percent decline over the same period last year, which equates to a 3.1 percent positive two-year stack of comparable store sales for the same time period. The Company also reaffirmed its full-year EBITDA¹ target of $1 billion for fiscal 2016.

"The first three weeks of November proved to be challenging in stores, consistent with the trends in the broader retail industry. However, the business improved and overall comp sales for the six-week period from Thanksgiving week through the end of December were positive. During the holiday season we saw strength in appliances, outerwear, boots, toys, Sephora and fine jewelry. However, weakness in women's apparel continued to impact our performance. We are also encouraged by a very strong performance in our e-commerce business, evidenced by double-digit growth. This validates the strength of our omnichannel strategy as efforts to improve site functionality, expand fulfillment capabilities, offer flexible shipping options and introduce a broad assortment of new product categories were instrumental to this digital sales growth," said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of JCPenney.

"As we prepare for a new fiscal year, our turnaround in profitability remains on track, and I am pleased that we expect to deliver our fourth consecutive quarter of positive operating profit," Ellison added.

The Company will report its full fourth quarter and fiscal 2016 results on Feb. 24.

¹ A reconciliation of non-GAAP forward-looking projections to GAAP financial measures is not available as the nature or amount of potential adjustments, which may be significant, cannot be determined at this time.

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