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Article: Store closings, declining traffic hurt Big Lots in fourth quarter.
- Article from:
- The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, OH)
- Article date:
- February 23, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Columbus Dispatch. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Jeffrey Sheban
Feb. 23--Closeout retailer Big Lots ended a bad year on a sour note.
The Columbus company said store closings, markdowns and declining customer traffic combined to depress fourth-quarter earnings, resulting in a loss for the year.
Big Lots said yesterday that it earned $14.7 million in the fourth quarter, compared with net income of $57.2 million a year ago. For the fiscal year ended Jan. 28, Big Lots lost $10.1 million, down from the previous year's profit of $23.8 million.
Wall Street was expecting better and punished the company's shares, which lost 9.3 percent yesterday to close at $12.74, down $1.30 on the ...