As the profits for Target lowered for the just completed quarter the retailer pointed to promotional markdowns at its US stores, softer-than-expected sales in Canada and continuing expenses related to the payment-card data breach last year.
The retailer, which experienced a massive breach of its customers’ credit- and debit-card information over the holiday season, said it expects expenses tied to the security breach of about US $148 million for the quarter. The amount also includes an increase to the accrual for estimated probable losses. Target now expects earnings of about 78 cents a share, down from its earlier call for 85 cents to US $ 1 a share.
