Carter Hawley Loses $35 Million in Second Quarter

Carter Hawley Hale Stores, owner of the Broadway department stores, Friday reported that its losses grew to $35.3 million, or $1.22 a share, in its second quarter.

The Los Angeles-based company, which is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection, lost $25.5 million, or 92 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Sales fell 7% to $495.9 million for the quarter ended Aug. 3.

For the first six months of the fiscal year, Carter Hawley said it lost $67.7 million, or $2.34 a share, on sales of $926 million, compared to a net loss of $32.1 million, or $1.17 a share, on revenue of $1.21 billion.

The sales comparison was adjusted to exclude revenues at Thalhimer Bros. department stores, a Southeastern chain that Carter Hawley sold in December.

Carter Hawley’s widened loss stemmed from “the difficult retail environment and extraordinary items,” said spokesman Bill Dombrowski. He cited the national recession and more than $30 million in legal fees and debt payments made by the company since it sought bankruptcy court protection in February.

Dombrowski said he did not believe that the results would have any effect on the company’s bankruptcy proceedings or on its dealings with Zell/Chilmark, an investment fund that announced a tender offer to pull the retailer out of bankruptcy.

David Jackson, an analyst with H. J. Meyers & Co. in Los Angeles, called Carter Hawley’s results “about in line” with expectations.

In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Carter Hawley’s stock closed at $1.875, up 12.5 cents.

Carter Hawley owns 89 stores in five western states, including Southern California’s Broadway chain, Emporium Capwell in the Bay Area, Weinstocks in the Sacramento area and the Broadway-Southwest in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.