Sears Canada Reports Narrower Loss

Sears Canada Inc. on Thursday reported same-store sales growth in its fiscal third quarter and a substantially narrower loss.

The Toronto-based department-store operator has been working to cut costs and boost revenue in a shifting Canadian retail landscape marked recently by the entrance and exit of some high-profile U.S. retailers.

In the three months ended Oct. 31, Sears Canada ended a seven-quarter string of negative same-store sales, posting a 0.4% increase compared with a year earlier. Same-store sales in its core operations—which comprise its full-line and Sears Home stores—rose 2.7%.

Company revenue overall fell 5% to 792.1 million Canadian dollars ($593.4 million), with the decrease reflecting store closures and lower direct-channel revenue.

Sears Canada lost C$53.2 million, or 52 Canadian cents a share, compared with a loss of C$118.7 million, or C$1.16 a share, a year earlier.

"The positive momentum that began in the second quarter has continued throughout the third quarter and we are pleased with the progress being made across the enterprise," Executive Chairman Brandon G. Stranzl said in a news release.

The company said the steps it is taking to improve profitability, including setting up vendor-branded shops within its stores, aligning its cost structure with the size of its business, and maintaining a strong balance sheet, were on track.

On the cost front, the company earlier this year initiated a program to cut operating costs by C$100 million to C$125 million from 2014 levels. At the end of the third quarter, C$67 million in annualized savings had been implemented, and the company said an additional C$30 million to C$40 million is planned for the fourth quarter.

Write to Carolyn King at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 03, 2015 10:05 ET (15:05 GMT)

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