TJX Cos Inc, the owner of off-price chains TJ Maxx and Marshalls, raised its full-year profit and comparable sales forecast, encouraged by more bargain-hungry shoppers visiting its stores.

Shares of the company, which also reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales, rose 4.3 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday.

TJX sells clothes and home furnishings that are priced 20-60 percent lower than those at traditional retailers and department stores, a strategy that has attracted price-conscious customers and helped the company gain market share.

The company has also been increasing the number and quality of brands in its stores, and has focused on staying on top of popular trends such as bohemian-inspired tops and skirts and shirt dresses.

TJX raised its full-year profit forecast to $3.21-$3.27 per share on a constant currency basis from $3.17-$3.25 earlier. Analysts, however, were expecting a full-year profit of $3.29 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Full-year comparable sales are now expected to grow by 2-3 percent, up from the prior forecast of 1-2 percent growth, the company said.

Comparable sales rose 5 percent in the first quarter ended May 2, more than the 3.1 percent rise analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix were expecting.

TJX's net income rose to $474.6 million, or 69 cents per share, in the first quarter, from $454.3 million, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting a first-quarter profit of 66 cents per share.
Revenue rose 5.8 percent to $6.87 billion, more than the $6.79 billion analysts were expecting.

$1 = £0.65