Penney reports 3Q loss

Holding Company shares. On a different note, The Company has disclosed insider buying and selling activities to the Securities Exchange, According to the information disclosed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Form 4 filing, the officer (EVP, HR) of J C Penney Co Inc, Evanson Brynn had sold 6,761 shares worth of $57,063 in a transaction dated May 15, 2015.

“Although I am pleased with the hard work and execution of the team in the third quarter, we are not satisfied”, CEO Marvin Ellison said during the firm’s Q3 conference call.

For the quarter, all merchandise divisions had positive comp sales gains over a year ago.

The third quarter of 2015 was rough for American department stores.

JC Penney shares fell 5.01 percent to $8.35 in pre-market trading. Among the company’s top-performing divisions were men’s, home, footwear, handbags and the cosmetics chain Sephora, Penney said.

Overall, Penney’s loss-which reflects the company’s restructuring costs-narrowed to $137 million, or 45 cents a share, from $188 million, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. The company posted an adjusted earnings per share loss of $US0.47, smaller than the estimate for $US0.56.

Penney’s results capped a volatile week for US department stores ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season, a period that historically has accounted for about a third of their annual sales and nearly 40 percent of earnings.

Revenue rose to $2.9 billion, also exceeding Street forecasts of revenue of $2.86 billion.

The retailer expects same store sales to increase 4-5% annually for the current year, whereas the free cash flow is expected to break even.

Gross margin widened to 37.3% from 36.6% a year earlier, helped by improvements in clearance and promotions.

Mike Ullman, who handed over the chief executive role to Mr. Ellison on August 1, reversed many of those changes.

The continuation of our strong sales performance this quarter demonstrates ongoing progress towards achieving the Company’s long-term financial targets.