Target Dec sales mixed; earnings decline seen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Discount retailer Target Corp (TGT.N) on Thursday said December sales at stores open at least a year rose 0.6 percent, adjusted for a calendar shift, above Wall Street's expectation for a gain of 0.2 percent.

But not taking into account the calendar shift, the company said same-store sales fell 5 percent in December, compared with Wall Street's forecast for a 4.9 percent decline, according to Reuters Estimates.

Target also said traffic to its stores fell during the holiday-heavy December shopping month, and earnings per share for the fourth quarter, which began on November 4, "will not meet last year's performance."

For January, the company forecast same-store sales in the range of down 1 percent to up 1 percent, compared with a rise of 5.1 percent in the year-earlier period.

Shares fell 2.3 percent to $48.76 in premarket trading.

Last month, Target lowered its December sales forecast, saying it expected same-store sales in the range of down 1 percent to up 1 percent, adjusted for the calendar shift. It had originally forecast a rise of 3 percent to 5 percent on an adjusted basis.

Sales for the five weeks ended January 5 increased 0.1 percent to $9.26 billion from $9.25 billion a year earlier.

Target said sales were strongest in shoes, health care and consumable items, while jewelry, toys and housewares were the weakest categories.

(Reporting by Nicole Maestri, editing by Lisa Von Ahn)