J.C. Penney quarterly same-store sales fall short of expectations

[August 15, 2019]    (Reuters) - J.C. Penney Co Inc <JCP.N> reported a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly comparable-store sales on Thursday, as the struggling department store operator stopped selling appliances and furniture in its stores.

Shoppers leave the J.C. Penney department store in North Riverside, Illinois, U.S., November 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski/File Photo

The Plano, Texas-based company said sales at stores open for at least 12 months fell 9% in the second quarter ended Aug 3. Excluding the impact of the businesses it exited, comparable sales decreased 6%.

Analysts on average were estimating a drop of 5.15%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

"We still have work to do on our topline," Chief executive Officer Jill Soltau said.

However, the company's net loss narrowed to $48 million, or 15 cents per share, from $101 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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