Jo-Ann Stores 4Q profit declines 26 percent

Craft and fabric retailer Jo-Ann Stores Inc. said Wednesday it earned a lower fourth-quarter profit as same-store sales declined and crimped revenue.

Profit declined 26 percent to $20.4 million, or 79 cents per share, from $27.5 million, or $1.10 per share, last year. Results in the most recent quarter included a 5-cent gain linked to repurchasing some of the company's senior notes.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 77 cents in earnings for the period.

Sales declined 2 percent to $571.9 million from $585.9 million, as same-store sales slipped 2.9 percent. Same-store sales measure sales at stores open at least one year and are considered a key measure of retailer health.

For the year, profit rose to $21.9 million, or 86 cents per share, from $15.4 million, or 62 cents per share, a year ago. Results in the most recent period include a 10-cent gain to buy the senior notes.

Sales rose to $1.9 billion from $1.88 billion.

But for the year ending in January 2010, earnings are expected between 70 cents and 85 cents per share, well below Wall Street's average estimate of 93 cents per share. Same-store sales are projected to fall between 2 percent and 4 percent.

Jo-Ann Stores shares closed earlier up 6 cents at $12.45, but tumbled 72 cents, or nearly 6 percent, to $11.73 in aftermarket electronic trading.