Macy's cuts annual profit view as weak demand overshadows holiday sales
Updates share movement in paragraph 1
By Juveria Tabassum
Dec 11 (Reuters) -Macy's M.N on Wednesday cut its annual profit forecast, sending shares down 10% as weak demand at its nameplate stores and heavy discounts cloud its expectations for the crucial holiday shopping season.
The department store chain had last month delayed its quarterly results after it found a single employee made wrong entries to hide about $151 million of delivery expenses between the fourth quarter of 2021 through third quarter of 2024.
The company, whose shares have lost nearly 17% of their value this year, is looking to revive sales by closing underperforming stores and relying on its luxury outlets Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury.
"Macy's is still facing challenges while operating in a competitive promotional space against an uncertain macro-operating environment with traffic challenges to the category," said Dana Telsey, analyst at Telsey Advisory Group.
The company has been the target of two activist investor actions this year, the latest from Barington Capital and Thor Equities, as department stores struggle to catch up with more consumers shifting online.
The investor group has asked Macy's to explore options for Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, and create a separate unit for its real estate business.
Its real estate assets, including flagship Herald Square outlet, are worth about $5 billion to $9 billion, according to Barington and Thor Equities. In comparison, its market capitalization was $4.6 billion.
In July, Macy's ended talks with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital over a $6.9 billion takeover bid, saying it didnot offer "compelling value".
The company expectsannual adjusted profit per share of $2.25 to $2.50 compared with prior expectation of $2.34 to $2.69, which was adjusted to account for a full-year estimated delivery expense impact of $79 million.
"We're updating our outlook for the competitive and promotional landscape that we're dealing with," Macy's executives said on a post-earnings call. "We see that the consumer remains under pressure."
Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur
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