Sears Canada has been struggling for the past couple years, but the company said it reached a “turning point” in 2015’s second quarter.
The department store chain had income of $24.6 million in Q2, compared with a loss of $18.9 million in the same period last year.
“In all, I am very pleased with the positive momentum we are now seeing in the business and I am confident that Sears Canada is back on the right track, focused on creating value for our shareholders, instilling a sense of pride in our employees and providing Canadians with an outstanding retail experience,” said company executive chairman Brandon Stranzl.
Whether or not Sears can sustain this profitability remains to be seen, however, as the improvement in the company’s bottom line was related to a one-time transaction. The company reported a $67.2 million pre-tax gain relating to the sale and lease back of three properties in Western Canada, including the Metrotown location, Cottonwood Mall in Chilliwack and the North Hill Shopping Centre in Calgary.
Same-store sales continued to slide, dropping 3.9% in the quarter. This was down compared with the drop seen in the same period last year; the positive change this year was related to the closure of several stores and the layoffs of hundreds of employees across the country in the first part of 2014. Revenue dropped $77 million or – 9.1% – to $768.8 million while costs fell just over 10%.
The company still had an overall loss for the first half of 2015, but it was considerably lower than the loss in the first six months of 2014. The total comprehensive loss was $40.6 million from January to June 2015, down from $97.7 last year.
Sears Canada is also continuing its search for a new CEO after Ron Boire departed in July after less than seven months on the job. Boire was the company’s fourth CEO in as many years.
