Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBAYF), in on-going talks to buy U.S. retailer Neiman Marcus (NMG) as well as Macy’s (M), reported a fourth quarter loss of 83 cents per share, due largely to an impairment charge related to weaker-than-expected sales at its Saks OFF Fifth and Gilt stores.

Written by John Gray (BNN.ca)

The department store reported:

• a net loss of $152 million for the quarter ending Jan. 28 compared to a net income of $370 million or $1.88 per share during the same period last year noting that its prior year’s quarter had been boosted by a $33 million gain from the sale of investments that contributed to the quarter,
• a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $116 million related to Saks OFF Fifth and Gilt stores,
• a retail sales increase of 2.5% to $4.6 billion
• and digital sales were up 13.3%.

Said HBC CEO Jerry Storch:

 “We are cutting expenses, rationalizing and reallocating our capital spending, strengthening our balance sheet, and taking other necessary actions”

HBC has been the subject of much market speculation recently. The company has reportedly been in talks to buy U.S. retailer Neiman Marcus as well as Macy’s.