Macy’s Inc. has reported a 12% in its fourth quarter profit buoyed by holiday sales, sources reported.

For the quarter ended Jan. 28, the operator of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s posted net income of $745 million, or $1.74 a share, compared with $667 million, or $1.55 a share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the department store retailer earned $1.70, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.65.

Net sales rose 5.5% to $8.72 billion, again beating analysts’ estimate for $8.7 billion. Comparable store sales were up 5.2% while online sales (at Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com) soared 40%.

Although online sales are included in comparable store sales, the company noted that its “online sales positively affected the company’s same-store sales by 1.7 percentage points in the fourth quarter.” Gross margin narrowed to 41% from 41.3%.

The company plans to spend about $850 million on capital expenditures this year, including new Macy’s stores in Salt Lake City, and Greendale, Wisconsin, as well as five new Bloomingdale’s Outlet locations.