UPDATE 4-Ross profit equals Street view; stands by outlook
* Q4 net EPS $0.76 vs Wall Street view $0.76
* Q4 sales up 5 percent to $1.73 billion
* Stands by full-year and Q1 outlook
* Shares down 0.3 pct (Adds conference call details, outlook, updates stock price)
NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - Off-price retailer Ross Stores Inc (ROST.O) posted a quarterly profit on Thursday that matched Wall Street's expectations and stood by its full-year outlook, buoyed by demand for fashion brands, which it sells at attractive prices.
The company's low prices for brand name merchandise -- from clothes to home goods -- have attracted consumers seeking deep discounts as they grapple with job loss, tighter access to credit and weak home values.
Like other off-price chains, Ross buys excess apparel, accessories and home goods in bulk from manufacturers at up to 60 percent below wholesale prices.
Its chances of buying top-brand items cheaply have increased in recent months as department stores like Mervyn's and Goody's have gone bankrupt and as other chains including Macy's (M.N) and J.C. Penney (JCP.N) plan lean inventories to match consumer demand.
That has left many manufacturers with excess merchandise, which Ross can snap up at a bargain, said Patrick McKeever, an analyst with MKM Partners LLC.
"It is a real buyer's market," McKeever said. "There has been this incremental increase in the amount of merchandise available -- better brands, better prices. From a merchandise standpoint, they are in a real sweet spot right now."
To that end, Chief Executive Michael Balmuth said on a conference call that "the quality of assortments that are available, as well as the brands, have never been better."
The company's net profit rose to $97.4 million, or 76 cents a share, in the quarter that ended Jan. 31, matching the average Wall Street estimate as compiled by Reuters Estimates. It posted a profit of $94.5 million, or 70 cents a share, a year earlier.
Sales rose 5 percent to $1.73 billion. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, fell 1 percent.
Tight control over the amount of merchandise on store shelves helped its margins, Balmuth said.
OUTLOOK UNCHANGED Continued...
