Stage Stores 2Q Profit Drops On Lower Sales

HOUSTON (AP) — Department store operator Stage Stores Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter profit slipped 6 percent as sales declined amid a consumer spending pullback during the recession.

The company's results managed to surpass Wall Street's expectations, and it lifted the low end of its full-year earnings outlook.

Net income declined to $9.1 million, or 24 cents per share, from $9.7 million, or 25 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates typically exclude one-time items, expected earnings of 23 cents per share.

For the period ended Aug. 1, sales dropped 8 percent to $341.7 million from $372.7 million.

The results missed Wall Street's estimate of $344.8 million.

Stage Stores has 752 stores in 39 states. It plans to open 30 to 35 stores in former Goody's markets in the future.

The company's stock added 7 cents to $12.81 in morning trading.