US retailer Buckle reports drop in March sales

US fashion retailer Buckle said net sales for the 5-week period ended April 1 fell 9.2 percent year-on-year.

Sales came in at 113.4 million dollars, down from 124.9 million dollars a year earlier.

On a comparable basis, for stores open for at least one year, sales decreased 10.1 percent.

Year-to-date net sales, meanwhile, fell 7.9 percent to 195.9 million dollars, while year-to-date comparable store net sales were down 8.8 percent.

For its most recent quarterly results released in March, Buckle reported a net profit of 87.8 million dollars in the fourth quarter ended January 28, up from 83.9 million dollars in the prior year period.

That came as net sales increased 5.5 percent to 401.8 million dollars.

For the full year, the Nebraska-based company made a net profit of 254.6 million dollars, slightly below the 254.8 million dollars it reported a year earlier, as net sales increased 3.9 percent to 1.345 billion dollars.