Sears' 2Q business revenues were down, but profitability was up, so Wall Street ended up happy.
Sears Holding Corp., the nation's third-largest retailer, reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Thursday, due to improved margins at Kmart and domestic Sears operations.
So it looks like the 'pruning' of unprofitable K-Mart stores has generated a healthier 'tree'.
Total revenues were down, but earnings were up.
Total revenues declined to $12.8 billion from $13.2 billion last year.
Excluding a gain of $22 million, or 14 cents per share, on the settlement of Visa/MasterCard antitrust litigation, Sears earned $272 million, or $1.74 per share, in the latest period.
K-Mart revenue was down $100 million over last year with the store closures. Sears revenue was down $300 million. But overall profitability is what both Sears Holding and analysts were looking for.
"Sears Holdings' resolve to improve the profitability of this business remains strong and is borne out in the company's second-quarter results," said Aylwin Lewis, Sears Holdings' CEO and president.
The results beat Wall Street expectations for profit of $1.67 per share on sales of $12.51 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.
So the pollsters were pleased. Now, let's see if consumers continue to be.
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