Sears Impresses With Q3 Results Despite Posting Huge Loss

Retail

Published: November 30, 2017 10:15 am

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) released its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Thursday. The retailer posted a net loss of $2.64 per share on $3.66 billion in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for a net loss of $4.46 per share and revenue of $3.34 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had a per-share net loss of $3.45 on $5.03 billion in revenue.

Revenues shrank by about $1.4 billion year over year, with store closures contributing to over half of this decline. Revenues were also negatively affected by reductions in the number of pharmacies in open Kmart stores, as well as the reduction in consumer electronics assortments in both Kmart and Sears stores.

During the quarter, total comparable store sales declined 15.3%. Kmart comparable store sales decreased 13.0%, while Sears comparable store sales declined 17.0%.

The company did not issue any guidance for the coming quarter, but analysts so far expect to see a net loss of $3.30 per share and $3.9 billion in revenue.

On the books, Sears cash and cash equivalents totaled $200 million at the end of the quarter, down from $258 million in the same period of last year.

Edward S. Lampert, board chair and chief executive, commented:

In the third quarter, we continued to narrow our losses and delivered another quarter of Adjusted EBITDA improvement of at least $100 million. With the challenging retail landscape continuing to pressure sales, the improvement in Adjusted EBITDA is reflective of the success of the strategic priorities we outlined earlier this year to streamline our operations, reduce inventory and minimize operating expenses, as well as our commitment to our goal of restoring positive Adjusted EBITDA in 2018. Our Shop Your Way membership program and Integrated Retail Strategy remain a key focus for us in order to meet the needs of our members and provide our members with the best experience possible throughout the holiday shopping season.

Shares of Sears were last seen up about 28% at $5.40, with a consensus analyst price target of $4.00 and a 52-week range of $3.62 to $14.32.

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