Toys ‘R’ Us narrows loss in Q3

Wayne, N.J. Toys “R” Us reported a narrower third-quarter loss for its period ending Oct. 31, citing its best operating performance since 2006.

The company lost $67 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of $104 million a year earlier. Its operating loss improved to just $9 million from $54 million in the same period in 2008.

CEO Jerry Storch said that the results were helped by lower operating costs and better profit margins, which together offset a 4% decline in sales to $2.7 billion.

Meanwhile, same-store sales fell 9.3% in the United States and 4.7% internationally.