Circuit City Stores Inc., the nation’s second biggest electronics retailer, said Wednesday it lost $12.2 million in its fourth quarter, hurt by hefty restructuring charges related in part to store closings and slow revenue growth.
The company said the slow revenue growth reflected a decline in flat-panel television prices and uneven demand for computer hardware. It shares fell nearly 3 percent in premarket trading.
For the quarter ended Feb. 28, the retailer reported a loss of 7 cents per share compared with profit of $141.4 million, or 81 cents per share, a year ago.
The latest results included pretax charges of $144.6 million related to store closings and other restructuring activities and a lowered value fdor it’s international unit.
Sales rose 1 percent to $3.93 billion from $3.89 billion, but fell short of analysts’ estimate of $4.04 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Sales at stores open at least a year slipped half a percent.
“Fourth-quarter sales growth was somewhat less than we expected,” said Philip J. Schoonover, chairman, president and chief executive. “Flat panel television average selling prices were well below the prior year, and our PC hardware business experienced volatility around the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system transition.”
Circuit City said personal computer hardware posted strong sales growth in both December and February, but January sales were hurt as the company kept inventories lean in advance of the Vista introduction.
The company’s shares fell 51 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $17.77 in premarket trading. Since hitting a high of $31.54 a year ago, the stock has steadily declined and recently hit a new year-low of $17.02.
Circuit City is second to Best Buy Co. Inc. among the nation’s biggest consumer electronics chains.