Macy's takes $3.2B coronavirus hit

The department store chain said business was ahead of expectations in May and June

Macy’s booked a $3.18 billion first-quarter writedown as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered stores and curtailed business.

The Cincinnati-based department store chain took a pre-tax, non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $3.1 billion and a long-lived asset impairment charge of $80 million. As a result, Macy's lost $3.58 billion, or $11.53 a share, as revenue plunged 45 percent from a year ago to $3.02 billion. On an adjusted basis, the loss was $630 million, or $2.03 a share.

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The adjusted results were in-line with the updated preliminary results the company released last month.

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M MACY'S INC. 15.27 -0.07 -0.46%

“The first quarter of 2020 was challenging for the country, the industry and Macy’s,” CEO Jeff Gennette said in a statement.

“While our stores are re-opened, we expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact the country for the remainder of the year,” he added. “We do not anticipate another full shutdown, but we are staying flexible and are prepared to address increases in cases on a regional level.”

Macy’s has reopened almost all of its stores, which the company says have performed better than anticipated in May and June. Digital sales have been strong across its markets.

Macy’s withdrew its earnings and sales forecasts earlier this year and did not provide an update.

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Shares have fallen 60 percent this year, trailing the S&P 500’s 4 percent decline.