Kohl's 4th-quarter profit falls

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. -- Kohl's Inc. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 18 percent as sales fell, but the results beat analyst expectations as the department-store operator curtailed expenses.

The company said 2009 will be "challenging" and forecast 2009 earnings below Wall Street's expectations.

Shares fell $1.70, or 4.9 percent, to $33 during aftermarket electronic trading, after closing down 55 cents at $34.70.

Profit for the three months ended Jan. 31 fell 18 percent to $336 million, or $1.10 per share, from $412 million, or $1.31 per share.

Revenue fell 5 percent to $5.24 billion from $5.49 billion last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a profit of $1.03 per share on revenue of $5.22 billion.

Sales in stores open at least one year, a key retail metric known as same-store sales, fell 6.9 percent during the quarter.

President and Chief Executive Kevin Mansell said the company expects 2009 to be difficult but said Kohl's plans to gain market share during the weak environment.

"We are planning conservatively in our sales expectations, inventory levels and expenses," he said.

The company expects 2009 sales to fall 1 percent to 4 percent during the year while same-store sales are expected to fall 5 percent to 8 percent.

The Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based company expects earnings in the first quarter of 2009 to fall between 27 cents and 34 cents per share. Analysts expect earnings of 35 cents per share.

For the year, the company expects earnings of $2 to $2.30 per share, while analysts expect $2.39 per share.