Sears cuts its losses in 3Q, Kmart sales turn up

An improvement in sales at Kmart and cost-cutting overall helped Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) show better results in the third quarter.

The parent of Sears and Kmart stores posted a net loss of $127 million, less than the $146 million it posted the same time last year. That translates to $1.09 per share, or 80 cents per share after factoring out some one-time items, beating Wall Street's forecast of $1.09 per share.

The company's comparable store sales in the U.S. dropped 2.3%, with sales up 0.5% at Kmart, but down 4.6% at Sears. Kmart's sales rose thanks to better sales of toys and home items, while Sears was hurt by slow sales of appliances, lawn and garden items, tools and electronics.