Kohl’s 1Q results miss Street as funk hits retailers
MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. – Kohl’s first-quarter results missed analysts’ estimates, weighed down by hefty costs as the department store operator’s sales dropped.
A lackluster holiday season across much of the retail sector seeped into a spring funk. Macy’s Inc. slashed its profit and sales expectations for the year Wednesday and Gap Inc. had some startling numbers and projections earlier this week.
Kohl’s shares slid almost 9 percent in premarket trading Thursday about 45 minutes ahead of the market open.
For the three months ended April 30, Kohl’s Corp. earned $17 million, or 9 cents per share. A year earlier the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based company earned $127 million, or 63 cents per share.
The current quarter included $64 million in impairments, store closing and other costs.
Earnings, adjusted for those costs, were 31 cents per share. That’s below the 36 cents per share that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were calling for.
Kohl’s revenue fell to $3.97 billion from $4.12 billion. Analysts polled by Zacks expected higher revenue of $4.12 billion.
Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, declined 3.9 percent. This metric excludes results from locations recently opened or closed. Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement Kohl’s Corp. had to take some markdowns in order to clear excess inventory.