Sears Holdings Corp has reduced its Q3 loss by nearly $200 million. This is an improvement compared to their results this quarter last year. This statement was made by the company late on Thursday. They further stated that they have benefitted from lower costs of operations.
Sears Holdings Corp has issued a warning at the beginning of the year that they are at the risk of bankruptcy, a sign that shows that America’s biggest traditional retailers might be in trouble. Their latest quarter which is their 24th was rounded up with weaker sales, with their sales at both Sears and Kmart dropping by a double digit.
The shares of the company have suffered over 50% loss so far this year, however, it wasn’t much affected by the reduction in their losses. It instead went up by 34% during the pre-market trading and served as their biggest day gain in years.
Billionaire owner, Chairman and CEO of the company Eddie Lampert in his statement asserted that “The improvement is reflective of the success of the strategic priorities we outlined earlier this year.” He further added that reduced activities reduced their inventories and drastically reduce their operating expenses.
At one time, Sears was considered to be the largest retailer in the country. They have been affected by the continuous rise of e-commerce firm Amazon and stated back in March that they doubt if they can continue. Efforts have been made to turn things around with moves such as brand licensing deals and promoting its shopper loyalty program all aimed at doing that.
The net loss of the company that was taken by the shareholders was $558 million in the last quarter. This was in line with the estimation of $525-$595 million that was given earlier this month. It is, however, a significant reduction in the $748 million loss they accrued in the third quarter last year.
In their report, they stated that they have raked in over $270 million from the sales of real estate properties and other assets during the Q3. Extra $167 million was gotten after the end of the third quarter. The proceeds from these sales were used to settle debt, with their long-term debt decreasing to $2.03 billion at the end of the quarter, down from the former $2.41 billion.
