CINCINNATI — Strong sales, including brisk Christmas season selling, and cost-watching helped Macy’s Inc. boost its revenues and earnings for the fourth quarter and all of fiscal 2010, the retailer reported Tuesday.

The company’s 850 department stores nationwide include Macy’s stores at the Dayton Mall and Mall at Fairfield Commons.

Earnings per common share were $1.55 for the final quarter, ended Jan. 29, up from $1.05 a year earlier. Both numbers included store closing costs and expenses from writedowns of declining asset values, Macy’s said. Sales for the most recent quarter totaled $8.27 billion, up from the prior $7.85 billion.

The $1.55 per-share earnings for the fourth quarter of 2010 exceeded the company’s projected earnings guidance of between $1.44 and $1.49.

For all of 2010, Macy’s reported earnings per share of $1.98 on sales of $25 billion, up from 78 cents and $23.5 billion. The 2009 per-share earnings figure included costs of divisional consolidations and localized sales initiatives.

The reported financial results for 2009 and 2010 reflected a change in Macy’s recording of deferred state income taxes, management said. In 2010, that resulted in a non-cash decrease in tax expense of $9 million, or 2 cents per share. In 2009, it amounted to a non-cash increase in tax expense of $21 million, or 5 cents per share.

Macy’s projects earnings of between $2.25 and $2.30 per share for fiscal 2011.

The retailer’s system includes Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores plus the online sales outlets macys.com and bloomingdales.com.