Sears gives gloomy outlook ahead of annual meeting

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings will host its annual meeting on May 4, and attendees likely will want to know how the company plans to improve sales and return to profitability under the leadership of its new CEO, Lou D’Ambrosio.

Ahead of the meeting, the company reported a same-store sales decline of 3.6% for its fiscal first quarter, which included a 1.6% decrease at its Kmart stores and a 5.2% decrease at its Sears Domestic stores.

Sears Holdings said it is expecting a first-quarter net loss of between $145 million and $195 million, or between $1.35 and $1.81 per diluted share. In the first quarter of fiscal 2010, the company reported net income attributable to its shareholders of $16 million, or 14 cents per diluted share.