Circuit City Profit Up in 4Q

Richmond, Va. Circuit City Stores Inc. said Wednesday it swung to a fourth-quarter profit, as cost cutting offset lower sales for a period that included the bulk of the crucial holiday-shopping season.

The company said it earned $4.85 million in the three months ended Feb. 29 vs. a loss of $4.25 million a year earlier.

"With the rollout of the store-level transformation complete, we have turned our full attention to improving the in-store customer experience through crisp execution and to rebuilding a more effective customer-focused sales culture," Philip J. Schoonover, Circuit City's CEO, said in a news release.

Although Circuit City saw an increase in profit, total revenue fell 8% to $3.65 billion, from $3.95 billion last year. Meanwhile, same-store sales fell 10.4%.

For the full year, Circuit City lost $319.9 million compared to a loss of $8.3 million during the prior year. Revenue fell to $11.7 billion from $12.4 billion a year ago.

For the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the company expects a loss from continuing operations before taxes of $180 million to $195 million, due to weak operating trends.