Sears Holdings posts 3Q loss

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 11/18/2010 11:45:53 AM

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - While Kmart showed improvement, Sears had a difficult quarter, creating a loss for parent company Sears Holdings.
Net loss for the period ended Oct. 30 was $218 million , or $1.98 per share, compared to a loss of $127 million, or $1.09 per share, last year.
Kmart's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) narrowed to a loss of $15 million from a year-ago loss of $39 million. Sears US's swung to a loss of $81 million from earnings of $86 million. Sears Canada's EBITDA tumbled from earnings of $58 million to $114 million U.S.
Total company revenues fell 4.9% to $9.7 billion as U.S. comps fell 4.8%, which was offset by an increase of $54 million due to the Canadian exchange rate.
Comps fell 0.7% at Kmart and 8.2% at Sears US.
"Sears Domestic's sales decline was primarily driven by declines in the home appliances, apparel, and consumer electronics categories, all of which experienced a greater decrease in the month of October. Sears footwear, jewelry, home categories and tires experienced comparable store sales growth during the quarter," the company reported.