J.C. Penney said it was encouraged by its second quarter results, which saw comps and net sales rise and a narrower net loss.
For the second quarter ended July 30, J.C. Penney Co. posted a net loss of $56 million, or 18 cents per share, versus a net loss of $117 million, or 38 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted loss was five cents per share for the second quarter, the company reported, versus a loss of 40 cents per share in last year’s period.
Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research, on average, anticipated an adjusted net loss of 15 cents.
Comparable sales advanced 2.2% in the quarter year over year, J.C. Penney stated. Net sales were $2.92 billion versus $2.88 billion in the 2015 period. Operating income was $76 million as compared to an operating loss of $9 million in the year-prior period.
According to the company, Sephora, home, footwear and handbags were the top-performing departments in the quarter while the strongest results by region were in the Ohio Valley and Pacific.
Marvin Ellison, J.C. Penney chairman and CEO, said, “We are pleased with the sequential improvement we achieved throughout the second quarter, and our solid performance across all key metrics is encouraging. We exceeded our profitability expectations, achieving an $85 million or 59% increase in EBITDA to $229 million for the quarter. We are continuing to win market share and improve the bottom line of our business.”
He added, “We are excited about the initiatives we have in place to drive incremental growth in the back half of the year with our appliance rollouts, new Sephora locations, center core refreshes, in-store dotcom fulfillment and our chain-wide rollout of buy online, pick up in store same day. These and other initiatives reinforce our confidence in our ability to achieve $1 billion in EBITDA for 2016.”
