A.C. Moore cuts loss, sales decline

BERLIN, N.J. A.C. Moore today announced that preliminary net sales for the three months ended Sept. 30 were $122.6 million, down 4.9% from $128.9 million for the same period last year. For the nine month period, preliminary net sales were $382.4 million, compared with $391.7 million last year, representing a decrease of 2.4%.

 A.C. Moore reported a net loss for the third quarter of $0.4 million, or 2 cents per share, versus a net loss of $2.6 million, or 13 cents per share, during the same period in 2006. Net loss for the nine month perido ended was $0.2 million, or 1 cent per share, versus a net loss of $4.2 million, 21 cents per share.

Commenting on the results, Rick Lepley, ceo, stated, “We are pleased with our continued progress in improving margins and EPS and our reduced SG&A dollar expenditure. We believe our focus on improving store profitability must continue to be our top priority at this time.”