Ross 2014 Annual Report Download - page 7

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Ross Stores, Inc. 2014 Annual Report | 5
13%
Shoes
13%
13% 24%
29%
8%
Men’s
Accessories, Lingerie,
Fine Jewelry, Fragrances
Home Accents,
Bed and Bath
Ladies
Children’s
and $210 million for the acquisition of our New York Buying
Office building, which we financed with a $250 million
bond offering. We ended the year with approximately
$700 million in cash and short-term investments and
$400 million in long-term debt.
For fiscal 2015, capital expenditures are expected to be
approximately $450 million to fund new store openings
as well as ongoing infrastructure investments, including
the completion of another new distribution center.
During 2014, we repurchased $550 million of common
stock, or about 7.4 million shares, under the two-year
$1.1 billion stock repurchase program authorized by our
Board of Directors at the beginning of 2013. In February
2015, we announced a new two-year $1.4 billion stock
repurchase program to be completed during fiscal 2015
and 2016. Our Board also approved an increase in the
quarterly cash dividend to $.235 per share, up 18% on
top of an 18% increase in the prior year.
The growth of our stock repurchase and dividend
programs has been driven by the large amounts of cash
our business generates after funding store expansion
and other capital needs. We have repurchased stock
as planned every year since 1993 and have also raised
our quarterly cash dividend annually since 1994. This
consistent record reflects our unwavering commitment
to enhancing stockholder value and returns.
Flexible Business Model Enhances
Long-Term Profitability
We are pleased with the solid sales and earnings growth
we achieved in 2014. In 2015, we will continue to focus
on the initiatives that have driven our success over the
past several years.
First, our top priority will always be delivering the best
values possible to our customers. As a result, we will
continue to make strategic investments in merchandising.
The people and processes of this critical organization are
key to gaining access to the most desirable name brand
products available in the marketplace.
Second, we will continue to operate our business with
lean selling store inventory levels. Over the past several
years, we have reduced in-store inventories by more than
40%, which has contributed to improved sales and gross
margins. For 2015, we are planning selling store inventories
to be down slightly on top of these multi-year declines.