J.C. Penney June same-store sales fall 2.4 percent
NEW YORK (Reuters) - J.C. Penney Co Inc. said on Thursday that June sales at department stores open at least a year fell 2.4 percent, a larger decline than Wall Street expected, and it forecast another decrease for July.
The company's shares fell more than 6 percent.
Analysts on average were expecting June same-store sales to fall 1.1 percent, according to Thomson Reuters Estimates, while the company had forecast a mid-single-digit decline.
The Plano, Texas-based company said total sales fell less than 1 percent to $1.6 billion from $1.61 billion in the five weeks that ended July 5.
J.C. Penney's sales and profits have been battered in recent months as its middle-income shoppers, worried about rising fuel and food prices, declining home values and a credit crunch, have pulled back on spending.
Last month, Penney said it would cut the number of stores it opens or renovates this year as it grapples with the weak environment.
For June, it said its women's merchandise was the top-performing category, while sales weakened in fine jewelry and home merchandise.
On a recorded call, Penney said it might have received a "modest" sales boost from U.S. tax rebate checks that have been making their way into the hands of consumers, but any benefit would be "short-lived."
For July, it expects a mid-single-digit decrease in same-store sales. Last year, July same-store sales rose 12 percent, due in part to a shift in the monthly reporting calendar that drove some back-to-school shopping into that month.
Penney shares were down $2.27, or 6.4 percent, at $33.25 in morning New York Stock Exchange trade.
(Reporting by Nicole Maestri; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
