J.C. Penney Co. said it expected April catalog sales to be in the low double digits.
The Plano, TX-based company also said sales at its Eckerd drug store unit to be up in the single digits.
The retailer also said it expected same-store sales to be flat for the month. Sales for the first week were softer than expected, the company said.
J.C. Penney’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 25 was $202 million, compared with last year’s earnings of $95 million.
In January, the company announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs from the catalog business.
The company has said it expects charges related to the restructuring of its catalog operations to cut 2003 earnings by about $40 million, which would be about evenly divided between the first and second quarters.
