Staples to Close 225 Stores, Kroger Debt Rises

Mukesh Buch
06 Mar, 2014
New York City

Ciena net loss in the quarter narrowed. Costco net declined 15% but sales climbed 6%. Joy Global net plunged 66%. Kroger profit dropped 9%. Pinnacle Foods net soared 27%. Staples net surged and plan to close up to 225 stores to save $500 million.

[R]11:35 AM New York – Ciena net loss in the quarter narrowed. Costco net declined 15% but sales climbed 6%. Joy Global net plunged 66%. Kroger profit dropped 9%. Pinnacle Foods net soared 27%. Staples net surged and plan to close up to 225 stores to save $500 million.[/R]

Ciena Corporation ((CIEN)) jumped 2% or 51 cents to $25.87 after the networking equipment provider reported revenues in the first-quarter ending in January climbed 18% to $533.7 million.

Net loss in the quarter narrowed to $15.9 million or 15 cents a diluted share compared to $47.3 million or 47 cents.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited ((CNQ)) gained 39 cents to $37.24 after the Canada-based energy company said net sales in the fourth-quarter ending in December jumped 4.9% to $4.3 billion.

Net earnings in the quarter jumped 17% to $413 million or 38 cents a diluted share compared to $352 million or 32 cents.

Costco Wholesale Corporation ((COST)) dropped 3.2% or $3.73 to $112.74 after the discount stores stated total sales in the second-quarter ending on February 16 climbed 6.2% to $25.8 billion. Comparable store sales in the quarter rose 4%.

Net income in the quarter declined 15.4% to $463 million or $1.05 a diluted share compared to $547 million or $1.24.

Joy Global Inc ((JOY)) climbed 3.5% or $1.91 to $57.70 after the mining equipment maker reported said net sales in the first-quarter ending in January declined 27% to $839 million.

Net income in the quarter plunged 65.6% to $48.9 million or 48 cents a diluted share compared to $142.1 million or $1.33.

The Kroger Co ((KR)) increased 2% or 89 cents to $44.50 after the retailer total sales in the fourth-quarter ending in December dropped 3.7% to $23.2 billion. Same store sales advanced 4.8%.

Net earnings in the quarter slipped 8.7% to $422 million or 81 cents a diluted share compared to $462 million or 89 cents.

The company said net total debt in the year was $10.9 billion, an increase of $2.3 billion from a year ago.

For the year, Kroger expected net earnings per diluted share for the fiscal 2014 in the range of $3.14 to $3.25.

Pinnacle Foods Inc. ((PF)) slid 11 cents to $28.39 after the branded food products maker said total sales in the fourth-quarter ending in December edged up 0.6% to $709.3 million.

Net earnings in the quarter soared 27.5% to $55.7 million or 48 cents a diluted share compared to $43.7 million or 54 cents.

Staples, Inc ((SPLS)) declined 16.2% or $2.17 to $11.23 after the office products provider reported total sales in the fourth-quarter ending in December jumped 10% to $5.87 billion.

Net income in the quarter surged $212.4 million or 33 cents a diluted share compared to $78 million or 12 cents.

The company estimated sales in the first-quarter to decrease and diluted earnings per share in the range of 17 cents to 22 cents.

The company plan to close up to 225 stores in North America including Canada by the end of 2015 as part of its $500 million cost-cutting program.

The company closed 42 stores in 2013 and said same store sales in fourth quarter declined 7% but online sales increased 10%.