Stage Stores Lifts Low End Of Full-year Outlook

HOUSTON (AP) — Clothing retailer Stage Stores Inc. on Thursday raised the low end of its full-year earnings guidance range and said it expects a same-store sales decline for the remainder of the year due to the weak economy.

The company forecast a profit between 40 cents and 65 cents per share for the year. Previously, the company projected income between 35 cents and 65 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect profit of 49 cents per share.

The retailer also said it expects same-store sales in its fiscal second quarter to fall between 6 percent and 9 percent. For the full year, it expects a decline of between 5.5 percent and 8 percent.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are an important retail performance indicator because they measure sales at existing locations rather than newly opened ones.

Stage Stores also reported a fiscal first-quarter loss.