Bankrupt Kmart posts a $1.45 billion loss

Bankrupt retailer Kmart posted a $1

Bankrupt retailer Kmart posted a $1.45 billion quarterly loss today, as it took massive charges from closing stores and saw sales slide further.

Excluding one-time and reorganisation items, Kmart said its net loss was $408 million compared with a net loss of $218 million a year ago. It recorded a $758 million charge to write down inventory in the 283 stores it closed in the first quarter.

Net sales in the period declined 8.4 per cent to $7.64 billion, from $8.34 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales slid 8.8 per cent. Excluding the stores it shuttered, same-store sales dropped 11.7 per cent.

As of May 1st, Kmart, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, said it had about $1.1 billion in available cash and about $1.6 billion available under its debtor-in-possession credit facility.