Exhibit 99.1
BED BATH & BEYOND INC. ANNOUNCES $200 MILLION INCREASE
TO ITS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED $400 MILLION SHARE
REPURCHASE PROGRAM
UNION, New Jersey, January 25, 2006 --- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a $200 million increase to its previously announced $400 million share repurchase program, which authorizes the Company to repurchase shares of its common stock in the open market at times and prices considered appropriate by the Company. Repurchases under the $400 million program, announced in October, have been substantially completed.
Repurchases under the October authorization did not have a material impact on earnings per share in the fiscal third quarter of fiscal 2005, and the authorization as increased to $600 million is not expected to have a material impact on earnings per share in the fiscal fourth quarter.
“Our Board took this action based upon our Company’s strong financial condition and it reflects the Board’s confidence in Bed Bath & Beyond’s long-term growth potential, financial outlook and cash flow generation,” said Steven H. Temares, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors.
The Company, which has been debt-free for over 9 years, had approximately $1.3 billion in cash and investment securities as of November 26, 2005, the end of the Company’s fiscal third quarter.
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Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is a nationwide chain of retail stores. The Company’s Bed Bath & Beyond stores sell better quality domestics merchandise and home furnishings. The Company’s Christmas Tree Shops and Harmon Stores sell giftware and household items and health and beauty care items, respectively. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. are traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “BBBY” and are included in the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Global 1200 Indices and the NASDAQ-100 Index. The Company is counted among the Fortune 500 and the Forbes 2000.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Many of these forward-looking statements can be identified by use of words such as may, will, expect, anticipate, estimate, assume, continue, project, plan, and similar words and phrases. The Company’s actual results and future financial condition may differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements as a result of many factors that may be outside the Company’s control. Such factors include, without limitation: general economic conditions; changes in the retailing environment and consumer spending habits; demographics and other macroeconomic factors that may impact the level of spending for
the types of merchandise sold by the Company; unusual weather patterns; competition from existing and potential competitors; competition from other channels of distribution; pricing pressures; the ability to find suitable locations at reasonable occupancy costs to support the Company’s expansion program; and the cost of labor, merchandise and other costs and expenses. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update its forward-looking statements.
INVESTOR CONTACTS (at 908-688-0888):
Ronald Curwin | | Kenneth C. Frankel | Paula J. Marbach |
Senior Vice President | | Director of Financial | Investor Relations |
of Investor Relations | | Planning | Ext. 4552 |
Ext. 4550 | | Ext. 4554 | Fax: 908-810-8813 |
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