Liz Claiborne Expects More Loss; Shares Fall

There isn't much to look forward to these days at Liz Claiborne(LIZ Quote), maker of Juicy Couture, Lucky Brands and Kate Spade.

The apparel maker widened its loss in the first quarter and said it expects to continue to record a loss in the second quarter, sending its shares tanking 18% to $4.75 in morning trading.

Liz Claiborne saw a loss of $91.4 million, or 97 cents a share, from a loss of $31 million, or 33 cents, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding discontinued operations and one-time restructuring and impairment charges, the company posted a loss of 37 cents, far below analysts' target of 23 cents.

Sales tumbled 29% to $779.7 million from $1.1 billion last year, hurt by declining store traffic and deep promotions.

Same-store sales sank 22% at Juicy Couture, 18% at Lucky Brand, 27% at Kate Spade and 7% at Mexx.

While the company did not release guidance it said the second quarter should see a loss similar to the one posted this quarter -- but by the third quarter expects results to improve.