DALLAS — Unable to escape the department store malaise reported this week by its peers, J.C. Penney on Friday said it narrowed its first-quarter loss but missed on its sales forecast, seeing declines in store traffic and the average price paid per item.
Penney’s stock price peaked in March just shy of $12 and has been dropping ever since. The stock fell 22 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $7.58 in trading Friday.
The retailer, based in suburban Dallas, posted a net loss of $68 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a loss of $150 million, or 49 cents a share, a year ago. Penney’s adjusted loss was higher, at 32 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast an adjusted loss of 38 cents a share and a sales increase of 2.1 percent to $2.92 billion.
Total sales declined 1.6 percent to $2.81 billion from $2.86 billion a year ago.
