Sears Canada's unaudited first-quarter results for the period ended March 29 included net earnings of $11.4 million compared with a net loss of $115.9 million for the same period last year.
However, earnings in the quarter included an after-tax gain of $4.3 million related to the sale of receivables through the company's securitization program. Last year's results included an after-tax expense of $124.3 million, related mainly to the conversion of the remaining Eaton's stores to the Sears banner. Excluding these non-comparable items, operating earnings in the quarter totaled $7.1 million versus $8.4 million last year.
Total revenue in the quarter was $1.28 billion versus $1.41 billion a year ago, representing an 8.7 percent drop as merchandise sales fell 12.7 percent and same-store sales were down 14.1 percent.
