May Department Stores Profit Falls 35%
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May Department Stores Co., the owner of Lord & Taylor, Hecht’s and other chains, said fiscal third-quarter profit fell 35% because of lower sales and steep price cuts to clear out merchandise before the holidays.
Profit from operations fell to $55 million, or 17 cents a share, from $85 million, or 27 cents, a year ago. It was the fifth drop in six quarters. Sales for the period ended Nov. 3 fell to $3.2 billion from $3.3 billion. Per-share earnings matched the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.
May, based in St. Louis, said higher expenses for payroll, employee benefits and advertising also hurt profit.
May shares rose 2 cents to $34.72 on the NYSE.
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