The US trading group Nordstrom Inc. closed the third quarter of the 2022/23 financial year with a decline in sales and in the red. Overall, the current results that the company published on Tuesday evening were in line with expectations.
In the most recent quarter ended Oct. 29, the retailer generated consolidated sales of $3.55 billion (€3.44 billion), down 2.5 percent from the same period last year. Retail sales fell 2.9 percent to $3.43 billion. The department store chain Nordstrom had to accept a drop in sales of 3.4 percent, the proceeds of the off-price concept Nordstrom Rack shrank by 1.9 percent.
Higher price discounts and increased operating expenses also weighed on the result. As a result, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to $3 million from $127 million in the prior-year period. The bottom line was a net loss of 20 million US dollars (19 million euros). In the third quarter of last year, Nordstrom posted a surplus of $64 million.
Group sales in the first nine months of the current financial year were 11.2 billion US dollars and thus almost nine percent above the corresponding level of the previous year. Net income was $126 million after a loss of $22 million in the same period last year. For the full fiscal year, management continues to expect sales growth of five to seven percent.