JCPenney posted preliminary earnings results for Q1. The results showed a 16% drop in same-store sales, with revenue down to $2.64 billion, against estimates of $2.73 billion. Their stock was up 2% in after-hours trading.
Full quarterly results will be released May 16th, but the unaudited results seem to show that the company’s slide has continued. Q1 revenue was down almost $500 million from last year, a fall of 16.4% – roughly in line with the 16.6% traffic fall. The company blamed the decline on construction related to the ongoing transformation of the home departments in 505 stores.
JCP is holding cash and cash equivalents of $821 million as of May 4th, with $3.818 billion in debt. Of that, $100 million is in capital leases and notes payable, which includes money owed to vendors.