Sears posts first profit since 2015

Sears Holdings Corp. rallied after posting its first quarterly profit since 2015, bringing a ray of optimism to a retail chain struggling to regain its relevance.

First-quarter net income amounted to $244 million, compared with a loss of $471 million a year earlier. The gain reflects efforts by CEO Eddie Lampert to sell assets and raise cash.

But its main business - running the Sears and Kmart department stores - still struggled in the latest quarter: When excluding one-time items, the company posted a loss.

Investors took the results as a sign that Lampert's turnaround bid is making some headway. The 54-year-old hedge fund manager, who also is Sears' largest investor, has scrambled to wring money from the sprawling chain's real estate and close stores.

On Tuesday, the company made a deal that pushed the due date for $400 million in debt from July to January. It also offloaded some of its pension obligations.

'While this was certainly a challenging quarter for our company, it was also one that clearly demonstrated our commitment to return Sears Holdings to solid financial footing,” Lampert said in a statement.

'We recognize that we need to accelerate our efforts to improve our operational performance.”

Sears' sales remain in a dire state. Revenue fell 20 percent to $4.3 billion in the latest period. And when earnings were adjusted for one-time items, the company posted a loss of $230 million, wider than the $199 million reported a year earlier.

Much of the revenue decline stemmed from Sears operating fewer stores. But the company also posted a comparable-store sales decline of 12 percent - roughly twice as large as in the year-ago quarter. These so-called comp sales are a closely watched measure because they exclude stores that opened or closed in the previous year.