Dillard's Inc. of Little Rock on Thursday reported a second-quarter net loss of $40.7 million, or $1.59 per share, compared to a net loss of $2.9 million, or 10 cents per share, in the same quarter of last year.
Same-store sales also was down 2% for the quarter, the first decline since the third quarter of 2017.
The publicly traded department store chain (NYSE: DDS) fell short of the $1.48 billion revenue and loss of 63 cents per share that analysts expected.
Included in the net loss is a pretax gain of $4.9 million related to the sale of three stores, according to a press release.
Dillard’s also returned $51.4 million to shareholders by repurchasing shares and issuing dividends during the second quarter. The company’s stock price late Thursday afternoon was $50.01, down nearly 12% from $59.10 when the market opened Thursday.
Total merchandise sales, which excludes revenue from the company's construction company, CDI Contractors of Little Rock, were $1.38 billion, down 2% from the same quarter last year.
Net sales were $1.43 billion, down from $1.47 billion.
Dillard's said sales were strongest in juniors’ and children’s apparel, men’s apparel and accessories and home and furniture.
Sales in ladies’ apparel and ladies accessories and lingerie were below trend.
The strongest sales were in the Eastern region, followed by the Western and Central regions, respectively.
The company operates 260 Dillard’s locations and 29 clearance centers across 29 states.
