Krispy Kreme posts narrower loss

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (KKD.N) on Friday posted a narrower third-quarter net loss as costs for closing poorly performing stores fell.

The net loss for the quarter ended October 29 was $7.2 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with $29.7 million, or 48 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue fell 9 percent to $117.1 million, the company said in regulatory filing. Krispy Kreme closed three poorly performing company-owned stores during the period and said sales of doughnut mixes, icings and other ingredients to franchisees fell due to slower doughnut sales at those stores.

Impairment charges and lease termination costs related to closing struggling stores dropped to $5.4 million from $15.7 million last year.

Krispy Kreme warned last month that it expected to post a net loss for the third quarter in part because substantial costs associated with legal and regulatory matters continue to hurt its results.

The Winston-Salem, North Carolina company went public in 2001 with a successful offering but in recent years has struggled with restatements, investigations into its past accounting and a decline in doughnut sales that sent some of its franchisees into bankruptcy.

Krispy Kreme shares closed at $11.48 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.