Nordstrom profit falls 57%

Nordstrom said today that its third-quarter profit fell 57 percent as same-store sales flagged, and the upscale department store chain slashed its full-year outlook.

For the three months ended Nov. 1, Seattle-based Nordstrom earned $71 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with a profit of $166 million, or 68 cents a share, during the same period last year.

Sales fell 8 percent to $1.81 billion, from $1.97 billion a year ago.

The company said the quarter included two one-time items that boosted earnings by 3 cents a share, while the year-ago quarter's results saw a gain of $20.9 million, or 9 cents a share.

Stripping out the one-time items, the company earned 30 cents a share in the latest quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected Nordstrom to earn 31 cents a share on revenue of $1.82 billion. Those estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Nordstrom, which operates about 170 stores in more than two dozen states, said its same-store sales sank 11.1 percent during the quarter. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are a key measure of retailer performance, because they measure growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.

Same-store sales in the chain's discounted Nordstrom Rack sites rose 3.6 percent.

"Sales in all of our businesses were significantly impacted after the financial markets began to experience severe stress in mid-September," the company said in a statement.

The company also cut its full-year guidance, and issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for the fourth quarter.

The financial results were released after the stock market closed today. Nordstrom shares fell 86 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $12.10 in after-hours trading, having closed the regular session at $12.96, up 34 cents.