Kohl's cuts profit forecast after weak first quarter, shares fall 10%

[May 21, 2019]  (Reuters) - Kohl's Corp slashed full-year profit forecast after the department store operator missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly same-store sales and profit on Tuesday, sending its shares down over 10% in early trading.

Sales at stores open for at least a year fell 3.4%, the first drop in seven quarters, and were below the average analyst estimate of a 0.15% dip, according IBES data from Refinitiv.

"The year has started off slower than we'd like, with our first quarter sales coming in below our expectation," Chief Executive Officer Michelle Gass said.

"We are planning the year more conservatively," Gass said, adding that it was "actively addressing" the causes for weak first-quarter sales.

Net sales fell to $3.82 billion in the first quarter ended May 4. Analysts on average were expecting $3.94 billion.

Excluding certain items, the company earned 61 cents per share, missing analysts' expectation of 68 cents.

The weak results also prompted the company to cut its adjusted profit forecast for fiscal 2019 to $5.15-$5.45 per share, compared to its prior outlook of $5.80-$6.15.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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