Sears Holdings Corp posted a slight rise in Dec. same store sales, driven by Kmart, and forecast fourth-quarter earnings ahead of estimates. Earnings are expected to come in between $385 million and $465 million, or $3.36 a share and $4.06 a share, for the fourth quarter ending Jan. 30.
Analysts on average were expecting Sears to earn $2.65 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For Dec., Kmart same store sales rose 5.3%, while total comparable sales grew 0.4%. Better sales of toys, home and apparel goods helped Kmart comparable sales for the month, as did its footwear business.
For the Sears chain, its domestic same-store sales declined 4.3% because of fewer purchases of high-ticket items like tools and automotive products.
