J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) released its fiscal third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The retailer said that it had a net loss of $0.52 per share and $2.73 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for a net loss of $0.56 per share and $2.81 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, the struggling retailer said it had a per-share net loss of $0.33 and revenue of $2.81 billion.
During the most recent quarter, comparable sales decreased 5.4%, while in the third quarter of last year comparable sales decreased by 4.5%.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the third quarter were $168 million, down from $185 million in the same period of last year. Inventory at the end of the third quarter was $3.22 billion, down 5.4% year over year.
Looking ahead and considering its newly appointed chief executive and chief financial officers, the company has decided to withdraw its previous 2018 full year earnings guidance and update its previous full-year comparable store sales guidance. The firm now expects to see comparable sales to be down by low-single digits.
The consensus forecast is a net loss of $0.91 per share and $12.21 billion in revenue for the year.
CEO Jill Soltau commented:
I am excited to be at JCPenney, and having been in the office for a month now, I am encouraged by the many opportunities I see. Our objective to put JCPenney back on a path to profitable growth is clear. In the coming weeks and months, I will continue to meet with and learn from our teams throughout the entire organization – talking with them about what we’re doing that’s working well and, most importantly, what we can do to address our opportunities.
Shares of J.C. Penney closed Wednesday at $1.22, with a consensus analyst price target of $1.58 and a 52-week range of $1.22 to $4.75. Following the announcement, the stock was down 12% at $1.09 in early trading indications Thursday.
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