Sears Holdings Corp.
The retailer,led by billionaire Edward Lampert, cut its second-quarter loss by more than half as profit margins perked up at its Kmart chain.
Still, the company’s results fell short of expectations. Weak shopper spending and increased competition, especially on food, led to a revenue decline.
For the three months that ended in late July, the owner of Sears and Kmart lost $39 million, or 35 cents per share. That is better than last year’s loss of $94 million, or 79 cents per share. Excluding one-time adjustments, the current quarter’s loss amounted to 19 cents per share.
Thursday’s results were the fourth quarterly loss for the retailer in the past two years.
Revenue slipped slightly to $10.46 billion, down from $10.55 billion last year.
Staples Inc.
Americans and small businesses spent cautiously on office supplies, but belt-tightening by Staples Inc. helped its second-quarter net income rise 40 percent.
Chief executive Ron Sargent said that despite the “challenging” backdrop, business seems to be slowly improving, even as the economy remains uncertain.
“What we are seeing is slow, steady improvement in our business, and I think the whole economy hinges on getting people back to work over time,” he said.
The nation’s biggest office-supply chain said net income for the three months ended July 31 rose 40 percent to $129.8 million, or 18 cents per share, from $92.4 million, or 13 cents per share, last year.
Net income was 20 cents per share, excluding a restructuring charge. Revenue was nearly flat at $5.53 billion. That was shy of the $5.64 billion analysts predicted.
Gap Inc.
Rising sales at its low-price Old Navy chain helped Gap Inc. post a 3 percent increase in second-quarter net income, Gap said Thursday.
Based in San Francisco, Gap also operates Banana Republic and Gap stores, plus websites including its Piperlime online business. And it affirmed a profit outlook for the year that is in line with Wall Street estimates.
Gap also said Thursday that its board has authorized a $750 million share-repurchase program, bringing the total share-repurchases authorization in fiscal 2010 to $1.75 billion.
For the quarter that ended July 31, Gap’s net income was $234 million, or 36 cents per share. That compares with $228 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue was $3.32 billion, up from $3.24 billion.
Hewlett-Packard Co.
Now that Mark Hurd is out as chief executive, the world’s biggest technology company is trying to prove to Wall Street that it can thrive under the sweeping changes he set in motion.
Its numbers for the May-July quarter — the last full quarter under Hurd — were solid but could still provide fuel for doubters. HP’s net income jumped 6 percent, and revenue notched 11 percent higher in its fiscal third quarter.
HP’s net income was $1.77 billion, or 75 cents per share, in the three months ended July 31, versus $1.67 billion, or 69 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding items, HP would have earned $1.08 per share.
Revenue was $30.7 billion, up from $27.6 billion a year ago.
Dell Inc.
PC maker Dell Inc. said its net income improved 16 percent in the most recent quarter, though a key measure called gross profit margin fell.
Dell’s results offer a gauge of the economic recovery in the form of business spending on technology. Companies spent more on servers, storage and computers for employees in the fiscal second quarter, which ended July 30, compared with the previous year.
That pushed earnings for the world’s second-largest computer maker up to $545 million, or 28 cents per share. It was $472 million, or 24 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue rose 22 percent to $15.5 billion, from $12.8 billion.
Denver Post wire services
