New York - J.C. Penney posted a fiscal second-quarter net loss of $56m, a sign that it still has work left to do in a multiyear effort to rebuild its business.
The net loss was 18 cents a share in the quarter ended July 30, compared with a deficit of $117m, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier, the Plano, Texas-based company said in a statement on Friday.
Sales rose 1.5% to $2.92bn, in line with analysts’ $2.93bn average estimate.
The results show that while J.C. Penney is having some success in combating the retail malaise that took a toll on its results earlier this year, it has a ways to go before returning to consistent profitability.
The department-store chain still is struggling to regain the stature it lost when former chief executive officer Ron Johnson attempted to reinvent the retailer more than four years ago.
The shares fell 1.2% to $9.82 at 7:47 a.m. in early trading in New York. J.C. Penney had surged 49% this year through on Thursday.
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