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PORTLAND — Dillard's Inc. department stores reported Friday that its first-quarter sales fell 12 percent, though it posted a $7.7 million profit because of a one-time gain.
The Little Rock, Arkansas-based chain said it earned 10 cents per share for the quarter, including a pretax gain of $1.5 million for interest payment reductions tied to the company's repurchase of unsecured notes.
Dillard's total sales fell to $1.47 billion as consumers kept tight control of their spending.
A year earlier the company earned $2.7 million, or 4 cents per share, on revenue of $1.67 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average had projected Dillard's would lose 18 cents per share on revenue of $1.42 billion. Analyst forecasts typically exclude one-time items.
Dillard's Chief Executive Officer William Dillard II said the company is pleased with the results, considering the economic conditions.
"Our aggressive efforts with regard to inventory management, expense reduction and cash conservation clearly benefited us during the quarter," he said.
The company's same-store sales, or sales at stores open more than a year, fell 17 percent for the quarter. Same-store sales are considered a key indicator of a retailer's financial performance.
The company's inventory management helped improve its gross margins and reduce operating expenses by $67 million during the quarter, Dillard said.
The company said it will continue a "conservative fiscal posture" and keep improving its merchandise assortment to position itself for the long-term.
Shares of Dillard's fell 9 cents to close at $7.51 Friday and remained unchanged in after-hours trading following the earnings report's release.
