J. C. Penney Q3 Loss Narrows, Reaffirms FY19 Comp Sales Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - J. C. Penney Co., Inc. (JCP) reported Friday a third-quarter net loss of $93 million, or $0.29 per share, narrower than a net loss of $151 million, or $0.48 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net loss for the quarter was $97 million, or $0.30 per share, compared to an adjusted net loss of $164 million, or $0.52 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Total net sales for the quarter decreased 10.1 percent to $2.38 billion from last year's $2.65 billion. Comparable sales decreased 9.3 percent and adjusted comparable store sales, which exclude the impact of the company's exit from major appliance and in-store furniture categories, decreased 6.6 percent for the quarter.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.55 per share on sales of $2.51 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2019, the company continues to expect comparable store sales to decline in a range of 7.0 to 8.0 percent and adjusted comparable store sales to decline in a range of 5.0 to 6.0 percent.