Target Corp.'s credit card profits nearly quadrupled in the fiscal fourth quarter as the retailer wrote off fewer loans and socked away less money for future losses.
The Minneapolis company, which announced in January that it was exploring a sale of its credit card receivables, on Thursday said its card segment profit was $151 million in the quarter that ended Jan. 29, up from $39 million a year earlier.
For all of fiscal 2010, profit rose 169%, to $541 million.
Revenue fell 17% in the quarter, to $384 million, as finance charges and late-fee revenue declined.
However, Target's average receivables fell 15% in the quarter, to $6.9 billion.
Target said it recorded a bad-debt expense of $83 million in the quarter, down 71% from a year earlier.
The company said in January that it had hired First Annapolis Consulting to pursue a sale of its card receivables.
Target has said that if it sells the receivables it plans to retain control of its card program.
The company issues private-label credit cards as well as debit cards. It previously issued cobranded Visa Inc. cards, but it discontinued that program in April 2010.
