Saks owner Hudson's Bay reports 34% rise in third-quarter sales

Canadian department store operator Hudson's Bay Co posted a 34 percent rise in quarterly sales, helped by higher same-store sales in North America and Europe and strong online sales.

However, the company cut its sales forecasts for 2015 and 2016, citing among other reasons the impact of terrorism incidents on its businesses in Belgium and Germany.

The company, which has been opening stores in North America including Saks and Saks Off 5th, said total same-store sales rose 12.9 percent in the third quarter.

Overall online sales jumped 36.3 percent in the quarter ended Oct. 31.

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The company, which bought Germany's Kaufhof department store chain in June from Metro for 2.8 billion euros to expand into Europe, said last month it was planning more acquisitions.

Hudson's Bay also plans to increase sales significantly over the next five years at about 136 Kaufhof stores in Germany and Belgium.

North American retailers are hoping for a strong holiday season after a less-than-exciting back-to-school quarter, which led to a selloff in retail stocks.

Hudson's Bay cut its 2015 sales forecast to C$10.7 billion- C$11.2 billion from C$11.0 billion-C$11.5 billion.

The company reduced its 2016 sales guidance to C$14.2 billion-C$15.2 billion, from C$14.5 billion-C$15.5 billion.

Hudson's Bay said on Thursday total sales rose to C$2.57 billion ($1.89 billion) in the third quarter, from C$1.91 billion a year earlier.

Net profit was C$1 million, or 1 Canadian cent, compared with a net loss of C$13 million, or 7 Canadian cents per share.

Excluding certain items, the company posted a loss of 4 Canadian cents per share.

Analysts had expected a profit of 2 Canadian cents per share on revenue of C$2.69 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Up to Thursday's close of C$19.90, the Toronto-based retailer's stock had fallen 19 percent this year.

(Reporting by Shubhankar Chakravorty in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)