Best Buy profit beats on strong demand for TVs, smartphones

[May 21, 2015]  (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc <BBY.N>, the largest U.S. consumer electronics chain, reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales, helped by strong demand for large-screen TVs, smartphones and appliances.

The net income attributable to Best Buy's shareholders fell to $129 million, or 36 cents per share, in the first quarter ended May 2 from $461 million, or $1.31 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 37 cents per share.

Revenue fell 1 percent to $8.56 billion. Comparable sales declined 0.7 percent.

Analysts had expected a profit of 29 cents per share and revenue of $8.46 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Ramkumar Iyer in Bengaluru and Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Kirti Pandey)

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