Sears results miss estimates

NEW YORK: Retailer Sears Holdings Corp reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday as weak sales and bigger discounts ate into margins.

The parent of Sears department stores and the Kmart discount chain said its second-quarter net loss had widened to $146 million, or $1.37 a share, from $39 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the loss was $1.13 a share. Analysts on average were expecting a loss of 64 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales fell 1.2 percent to $10.3 billion, while analysts expected $10.5 billion.
Copyright Reuters, 2011