J.C. Penney Posts Worse-Than-Expected Drop in Sales

PLANO, Texas — J.C. Penney Co. Inc. reported a steeper-than-expected fall in quarterly comparable-store sales on Tuesday, taking a hit from not selling major appliances and in-store furniture, sending its shares down 10 percent in early trading.

The company said exiting those categories cut comparable sales by 20 basis points.

One of the oldest names in American retail, J.C. Penney has struggled to excite customers with its mid-priced clothing and has steadily lost out to fast-fashion brands an online shopping.

The Plano, Texas-based company said sales at stores open for at least 12 months fell 5.5 percent in the first quarter, marking its sixth straight quarterly drop. Analysts' on average had expected a 4.21 percent fall, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The company's net loss nearly doubled to $154 million, or 48 cents per share, in the three months ended May 4.

Excluding one-time items, the company posted a loss of 46 cents per share, bigger than the 38 cent loss analysts had expected.

Total revenue decreased 4.3 percent to $2.56 billion, in-line with the average analyst estimate.

By Siddharth Cavale; editor: Sriraj Kalluvila.