Sears Holdings (SHLD) Falls Double Digits on Weak Comps

Zacks

Sears Holdings Corp.’s (SHLD) woes continue to prevail. Yesterday, the company disclosed disappointing comparable-store sales (comps) performance. Following the announcement, shares of this retailer fell approximately 10%.

The company’s total comps for the quarter-to-date period ended Jul 25, 2015, declined 10.6%, including a fall of 6.9% and 13.9% at its Kmart and Sears Domestic stores, respectively. Year-to-date comps fell 10.7%. A massive drop in consumer electronics sales is anticipated to be the reason behind this downfall.

However, despite all the odds the company expects net income for the second quarter to be between approximately $155 million and $205 million. Management hinted that the reported net income includes around $510 million from one-time gains, amounting from the spin off of certain assets to a real estate investment trust (REIT) – Seritage Growth Properties. The spin off may have boosted the company’s balance sheet to some extent but was not enough to convince investors.

The company also amended its credit facility which is expected to act as a cushion in these hard times. However, the downbeat performance has marred all growth efforts.

Sears Holdings has long been grappling with soft top and bottom-line results. With the failure of its restructuring, Sears Holdings has been constantly lagging its peers like Target Corporation TGT, Gordmans Stores, Inc. GMAN, Dollar General Corporation DG and Ross Stores Inc.

At present, Sears Holdings is concentrating on different strategic initiatives to inflate margins. However, these turnaround strategies still have a long path to tread and investors remain more concerned about the company’s current performance.

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