​Macy's profits and revenues drop but beat forecasts

NEW YORK - Macy's (M) is reporting a 31 percent decline in fourth-quarter profits as the retailer got dragged down by store closings and other costs.

But the adjusted results beat Wall Street estimates, and sales began to pick up in January after a weak holiday season.

Shares jumped 5.7.percent, or $2.32, to $43.39 before the opening bell Tuesday morning.

The nation's largest department store chain, which also operates Bloomingdales, says it earned $544 million, or $1.73 per share, in the quarter ended Jan. 30. That compares with $793, or $2.26 per share, in the year-ago period.

Adjusted profits were $2.09 per share, better than the $1.86 per share estimate from analysts, according to Zacks Investment Research,

Total revenue fell 5.2 percent to $8.87 billion, but that's still higher than the $8.84 billion projection from analysts.