DSW Posts Lower 1Q Profit, Shares Tumble

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Shoe retailer DSW Inc. posted a decline in its first-quarter profit Wednesday as same-store sales dropped amid the economic turmoil.

The company's shares tumbled in after-hours trading after it gave a disappointing outlook for the full year.

For the three months ended May 2, the company earned $7.1 million, or 16 cents per share, down 31 percent from $10.3 million, or 23 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $385.8 million from $366.3 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 16 cents per share on sales of $382.8 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, declined 4.7 percent during the quarter. Same-store sales are a closely watched industry metric.

DSW forecast earnings of 30 cents to 35 cents per share for the full fiscal year, and said it expects a mid-single-digit decline in same-store sales.

Analysts are predicting a profit of 46 cents per share.

Shares fell $1.38, or 10.6 percent, to $11.59 in after-hours trading when the results were released. The stock had closed down 3 cents at $12.97 in the regular session.