J.C. Penney's Q3 online sales up 27 percent

J. C. Penney Company Inc. reported net sales for the third quarter ending Oct. 28 totaled $4.781 billion - a 6.7 percent increase. Store sales rose 5.2 percent during the same period while direct sales increased 5.3 percent. Sales from its Web site at www.jcp.com increased approximately 27 percent.

The Plano, TX-based multichannel merchant's third-quarter earnings per share from continuing operations increased 34 percent to $1.26 from $0.94 last year.

For the year-to-date period, net sales totaled $13.239 billion, a 5.3 percent gain over last year. Comparable sales during the same period rose 4.4 percent while direct sales increased 4 percent.