In the fiscal year ended February 2, Big Lots, Inc. today reported, income from continuing operations was $177.2 million, or $2.93 per diluted share. Excluding a non-recurring, non-cash charge, adjusted income from continuing operations for fiscal 2012 was $180.6 million, or $2.99 per diluted share, versus $207.2 million, or $2.99 per diluted share, for fiscal 2011.

Net sales were $5.4 billion versus $5.2 billion in the prior fiscal year. Operations in the United States recorded net sales of $5.25 billion versus $5.14 billion in the year earlier.

For the fourth quarter, Big Lots posted income from continuing operations of $120.3 million, or $2.09 per diluted share, versus  $114.7 million, or $1.75 per diluted share, for the fiscal 2011 period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.98 per share for the quarter, according to published reports.

Net sales for Big Lots U.S. operations increased 4.4% to $1.7 billion from $1.63 billion for the fiscal 2011 quarter. Comparable store sales for U.S. stores declined 3.5% in the fourth quarter year over year. Income from continuing U.S. operations totaled $120.1 million, or $2.08 per diluted share, non-GAAP, versus $119.8 million, or $1.83 per diluted share, non-GAAP, for the same period of fiscal 2011. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 benefited from an extra week of results due to the retail calendar shift, and Big Lots said the extra week benefited fourth quarter results by about five cents per diluted share.