Coldwater 2Q profit exceeds expectations

SANDPOINT (AP) - Women's apparel retailer Coldwater Creek Inc. said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit tumbled 64 percent, but beat Wall Street's expectations.

For the three months ended Aug. 2, the company reported net income of $3.1 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with $8.7 million, or 9 cents per share, in the period ended Aug. 4, 2007.

"Despite the challenges in the external environment, we are pleased that our second-quarter operating results exceeded our expectations," Coldwater Creek president and CEO Daniel Griesemer said in a conference call.

Results include a non-cash impairment charge of $900,000, or 1 cent per share, related to certain Coldwater Creek day spa locations.

Results are based on 91.5 million shares outstanding in the 2008 quarter and 94.7 million shares outstanding in the 2007 quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, had expected a profit of 1 penny per share on sales of $242.5 million. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time, unusual items.

Net sales slipped 5 percent to $241.4 million from $253.5 million, hurt by a decline in phone and Internet sales. Sales from the company's retail stores rose 7 percent to $189.4 million.

Sales in stores open at least one year, a key retail metric known as same-store sales, declined 13.7 percent.

Shares jumped 45 cents, or 6.9 percent, to close at $6.94. Shares dropped in after-hours trading, falling 49 cents, or 7.1 percent, to $6.45.

—Staff writer Conor Christofferson contributed to this report.