Pier 1 Misses by 6 Cents

Pier 1 (PIR Quote - Cramer on PIR - Stock Picks) posted its latest disastrous quarter Thursday, as the home goods retailer reported a 14.8% drop in second-quarter same-store sales.

The Fort Worth, Texas, company lost $73 million, or 84 cents a share, for the quarter ended Aug. 26, compared with a year-ago continuing operations loss of $6.4 million, or 7 cents a share. Sales fell 13% from a year ago to $373 million.

The latest quarter included a raft of charges related to taxes, litigation and asset impairments. Excluding those charges, the latest-quarter loss was 34 cents a share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for a 28-cent loss on sales of $387 million.

"Although we are well underway with our turnaround strategy, we are disappointed to report a significant loss for the second quarter," said CEO Marvin Girouard. "We did have a number of one-time charges which impacted the quarter. Additionally, sales were soft in June and July, improved slightly in August, but our fixed costs were too much to overcome.

"With 100 days remaining until Christmas, we are focused on the all-important holiday season," he added. "We have planned increases in store-level inventory for decorative accessories, gifts and tabletop collections, although total inventory is being carefully monitored and is currently 15% below last year. We have an aggressive marketing program scheduled for the third and fourth quarters of this year and new visual presentations planned for stores that will feature a broad assortment of value-priced items."