Sears and Kmart comps continued to plunge in the first quarter, although Sears Holdings did post a profit based on its cost cutting and restructuring efforts.
For the first quarter when the company fell far short of analyst expectations, Sears Holdings posted company net income of $244 million, or $2.28 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $471 million, or $4.41 per diluted share, for the period a year earlier. The company also reported an adjusted net loss of $230 million, or $2.15 per diluted share, versus an adjusted company net loss of $199 million, or $1.86 per diluted share, in the year-previous timeframe.
Analysts polled by MarketBeat, on average, expected an adjusted loss of 72 cents per diluted share in the quarter.
Comparable sales tumbled 11.9%, with Kmart comps slipping 11.2%, driven by declines in the grocery and household, pharmacy, apparel and home categories. Sears Domestic comps slid 12.4%, driven by decreases in the home appliances, apparel and lawn and garden categories.
Revenues were $4.3 billion versus $5.4 billion in the 2016 period.
“While this was certainly a challenging quarter for our company, it was also one that clearly demonstrated our commitment to return Sears Holdings to solid financial footing,” said Edward Lampert, Sears Holdings’ chairman and CEO. “We recognize that we need to accelerate our efforts to improve our operational performance and are moving decisively with our $1.25 billion restructuring program.”
