Nordstrom Profit Misses Street, Outlook Weak; Shares Fall 7%

(RTTNews) - Shares of Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) slipped 7 percent in extended hours on Thursday after the department store chain reported a disappointing results for its fourth quarter and issued a weak forecast for the current full year.

Seattle-based Nordstrom's fourth-quarter profit dropped to $180 million or $1.00 per share from $255 million or $1.32 per share last year. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.22 per share.

The company said its bottom line included an asset impairment charges of $0.17 per share.

Sales for the quarter rose 5.2 percent to $4.14 billion from $3.94 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $4.22 billion. Comparable store sales edged up by 1 percent.

Fourth-quarter gross margins dropped 184 basis points hurt largely by increased markdowns from lower than planned sales and in response to an elevated promotional environment during the holiday season.

Selling, general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of net sales, increased 71 basis points due to asset impairment charges.

Looking forward to the full year 2016, Nordstrom expects earnings of $3.10 to $3.35 per share and net sales increase of 3.5 to 5.5 percent. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $3.53 per share on revenue growth of 5.7 percent.

JWN closed Thursday's trading at $52.72, up $0.47 or 0.90%, on the NYSE. The stock, however, dropped $3.82 or 7.25% in the after-hours trading.