Big Lots posts narrower-than-expected loss

Big Lots Inc. stock
BIG,
+2.45%
was up 12% in premarket trades Tuesday after the Columbus, Ohio retailer posted a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss. Big Lots reported a second-quarter net loss of $249.84 million, or $8.56 a share, compared to a net loss of $84.15 million, or $2.91 a share in the year-ago quarter. The company’s adjusted loss of $3.24 a share beat the FactSet consensus estimate of $4.11 a share. Citing a challenging environment, Big Lots said its second-quarter revenue fell to $1.14 billion from $1.35 billion, slightly ahead of the analyst estimate of $1.1 billion. Looking ahead, Big Lots said it would not provide a forecast for earnings per share, but it’s expecting third-quarter comparable store sales to be down in the low-teen range, which is “modestly improved” relative to the second quarter. For the fourth quarter, Big Lots expects comp sales to be improved relative to the third quarter and be in the high-single-digit negative range. “Our core lower-income customer remains under significant pressure and has limited capacity for higher-ticket discretionary purchases,” said Big Lots chief executive Bruce Thorn. “However, we did see some sequential improvement in the quarter, and were pleased to come in ahead of or in line with our guidance on all key metrics.”