RadioShack Q3 profit falls, misses Street

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. reported Tuesday that profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 plummeted to $300,000, compared with earnings of $46 million in the year-ago period. The retailer cited the transition from T-Mobile offerings to Verizon Wireless as a major reason for the performance decline, although that was offset somewhat by new mobile service and sales centers in Target stores. The company launched Verizon Wireless in more than 4,400 stores on Sept. 15, as well as ramped up its Target Mobile centers rollout in the same period.



RadioShack's total revenue rose 3% to $1.03 billion, matching Wall Street expectations. Same-store sales, including Target Mobile centers, dipped 4% during the quarter.



“Despite the pervasive challenges in the retail economy, we believe we are well positioned to advance our mobility growth strategy in the quarters ahead," said Jim Gooch, RadioShack president and CEO.



In related news, RadioShack announced earlier on Tuesday that it would double its annual dividend payment to $.50 cents per share, and that it will repurchase up $200 million of its common stock over the next 12 months.