Sears Canada revenue for the quarter ended May 2 fell to $697.2-million, down $771.7-million, mostly because of store closings.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Sears Canada Inc. is reporting a $59.1-million net loss for the first quarter amid falling revenue, which was down 9.7 per cent from last year.
The loss amounted to 58 cents per share – which was less than during the same time last year when the struggling department store operator reported a net loss of $75.2-million or 74 cents per share.
Overall revenue for the quarter ended May 2 fell to $697.2-million, down from $771.7-million, mostly because of store closures.
Same-store sales were down 4.3 per cent, measuring a decline at locations open at least a year.
The company currently has 167 corporate stores, 197 Hometown stores, more than 1,300 catalogue and online merchandise pickup locations, 85 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide repair and service network.
Sears Canada chief executive Ron Boire said the drop in same-store sales was less than any quarter in 2014 but the company is working to improve its revenue and earnings.
This year's quarter was helped by a $5.1-million gain from a settlement of retirement benefits while last year's first quarter included a $7.6-million non-recurring expense related to its corporate transformation efforts.
After various adjustments in both years, Sears Canada's first quarter loss was $50.5-million compared with a loss of $58.1-million last year.