Williams lowers annual forecast

Williams-Sonoma Inc. said fiscal second-quarter earnings dropped 29% and reduced its annual forecast.

Full-year profit and sales will decline more than it thought as it cuts prices to woo cash-strapped shoppers, the retailer said, sending its shares down 7.8%.

Net income in the quarter that ended Aug. 3 fell 29% to $18.4 million, or 17 cents a share, from $26 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier, San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma said. Revenue dropped 4.6% to $819.6 million, trailing analysts’ estimates.

Full-year profit will be $1.03 to $1.15 a share, Williams-Sonoma said, lower than its June forecast of $1.45 to $1.58. Revenue may decrease to $3.57 billion to $3.64 billion, lower than the range of $3.74 billion to $3.8 billion projected earlier, the company said.

Williams-Sonoma shares fell $1.43 to $17.01.