Earlier today, Target released the eagerly anticipated earnings info for the financial quarter ending Feb. 1. As expected, the massive data breach that saw some 110 million customers’ info stolen by hackers had a disastrous effect on the bottom line for the retailer.

In the last three months, Target’s net earnings were $520 million, down 46% from the $961 million earned by the company during the same time a year earlier. That quarterly dip accounts for nearly half of the $1.02 billion drop in profits for the entire year (from $2.99 billion to $1.97 billion, a decrease of 34.3%).

The total number of transactions in the last quarter were down 5.5%, reports the retailer. Much of that is being blamed on the data breach that lasted from Black Friday weekend in late November to the middle of December. That’s the largest such decline for the store in the six years that it’s been reporting that statistic.

Another problem for Target was its recent expansion into Canada, which hasn’t gone as rosily as the retailer might have hoped.

All of these things said, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel is confident that the company can win consumers back and plans to do so by being “aggressive” with enticing offers.

We’ve definitely got to up our game on all fronts,” Steinhafel said. “We’re going to deliver… just some eye-popping irresistible deals.”

Target’s 4Q profit falls 46% after breach, Canada expansion [StarTribune.com]

Target Profit Declines on Data Breach Fallout [WSJ.com]

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