Circuit City Pulls Plug on Guidance

Updated from 9:37 a.m. EDT

After a first quarter that fizzled, Circuit City(CC Quote) doesn't see much spark for the full year, either.

The struggling electronics retailer said Wednesday that it swung to a first-quarter loss, as expected, and the company pulled the plug on its full-year guidance due to its ongoing restructuring plan and a tough economic environment.

For the quarter ended May 31, the Richmond, Va.-based company posted a loss of $54.6 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $6.4 million, or 4 cents a share.

Sales fell to $2.49 billion from $2.6 billion. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, dropped 5.6%.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial projected a loss of 32 cents a share and sales of $2.44 billion for the quarter.

The results weren't much of a surprise, since Circuit City had already warned in late April that it expected a loss for the quarter due to pricing issues in the flat-panel TV category. As a result, shares were barely moving, recently rising 8 cents to $16.15.

In the latest quarter, Circuit City's total television same-store sales, or comps, sank by the double-digits, with a decrease in projection and tube televisions sales more than offsetting growth in flat-panel TVs.

Comp sales of notebook computers increased by double digits, while comps on desktop computers were roughly flat compared with a year ago.

To watch Rob Lenihan's video take of this column, click here.

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