Williams-Sonoma falls after Q1 results

Shares of home decor chain Williams-Sonoma Inc. sank Wednesday after the retailer said declining sales led to a first-quarter loss.

For the three months ended May 3, the San Francisco-based owner of Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm brands lost $18.7 million, or 18 cents per share.

That includes 4 cents per share in early lease termination charges for underperforming stores. In the same period last year, the company earned $10.4 million, or 10 cents per share.

Sales declined 22 percent to $611.6 million from $781.8 million. And same-store sales, an important retail industry metric of sales at stores open at least one year, slumped 21 percent.

The retailer also maintained its guidance for the remainder of the year.

Williams-Sonoma shares fell $1.20, or 8.2 percent, to $13.50 in midday trading Wednesday.

Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Baker told investors that the results _ while better than expected _ were still poor compared to last year.

"We'd characterize the release as mixed," he wrote. "They beat estimates, but forecasts were very low and while most line items came in better than guidance, they are down substantially year over year."

Baker maintained his "Hold" rating on the shares.