Coldwater Creek shares fall after hours

SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) -- Coldwater Creek Inc.'s shares fell in after-hours trading Tuesday after the women's clothing company reported a larger quarterly loss than anticipated.

The Sandpoint, Idaho-based company has struggled in recent years due to weak consumer spending and a failure to find fashions that resonated well with customers. It hasn't posted a quarterly profit since the second quarter of 2010.

Coldwater Creek said that its sales were lower than planned in its fiscal second quarter due to fewer shoppers in its stores in July. The company acknowledged that its effort to improve some key sales measures has not taken effect as quickly as it had hoped, but recent changes should help the company in the future.

The retailer added a new marketing director and is working with a data-system partner to improve sales and shopper loyalty.

Coldwater Creek posted a net loss of $16.4 million, or 54 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Aug. 3. That is compared with a net loss of $17.6 million, or 58 cents per share, in the second quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, the company had a loss of 72 cents per share versus 62 cents per share last year.

Total revenue slipped to $149.7 million from $163.7 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet were anticipating a much smaller adjusted loss of 63 cents per share for the period on revenue of $162.8 million.

Coldwater Creek said that it expects a loss of 55 to 75 cents per share on an adjusted basis for its fiscal third quarter. Analysts had forecast a loss of 37 cents per share.

The company said it expects its revenue from stores open at least a year will be down in the high-single digits in its third quarter. This is considered a key indicator of a retailer's financial performance as it strips away the impact of recently opened or closed stores. This same measure fell 7.3 percent in its second quarter.

Coldwater Creek closed three retail stores and one factor store during the most recent period, ending the quarter with 344 retail stores, 36 factory stores and eight spas. The company plans to close up to six additional stores in 2013.

Shares fell 53 cents, more than 19 percent, to $2.21 in after-hours trading. They had risen 33 cents, or 14 percent, to $2.74 during Tuesday's regular trading session.

The value of Coldwater Creek's stock has reflected the company's struggles. It was over $120 in late 2006 prior to the onset of the Great Recession.