Dillard's posts drop in Q2 sales, profit

US department store chain Dillard's has reported a drop in sales and profit in the second quarter.

Net sales fell 3 percent to 1.57 billion dollars in the three months ended July 29, while net profit narrowed to 131.5 million dollars from 163.4 million dollars.

For the year to date, net sales fell 4 percent to 3.15 billion dollars, while net profit fell to 333 million dollars from 414.5 million dollars.

“The cautious consumer we noted in the first quarter continued in the first few weeks of the second, leading to a sales decline of 3 percent,” said CEO William T. Dillard II in a statement.

“We exited the quarter with inventory flat year-over-year while maintaining a strong retail gross margin of 40.4 percent,” he said.

“We repurchased 103 million dollars of stock and ended the quarter with 924 million dollars in cash and short-term investments.”