May Department Stores Profit Falls 35%

May Department Stores Co., the owner of Lord & Taylor, Hecht’s and other chains, said fiscal third-quarter profit fell 35% because of lower sales and steep price cuts to clear out merchandise before the holidays.

Profit from operations fell to $55 million, or 17 cents a share, from $85 million, or 27 cents, a year ago. It was the fifth drop in six quarters. Sales for the period ended Nov. 3 fell to $3.2 billion from $3.3 billion. Per-share earnings matched the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.

May, based in St. Louis, said higher expenses for payroll, employee benefits and advertising also hurt profit.

May shares rose 2 cents to $34.72 on the NYSE.