Kmart

Kmart Holding Corp. (Troy, Mich.) has announced a 14.4 percent increase in net income for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2004 ended Jan. 26, 2005.

Adjusted net income, excluding gains on sales of assets and bankruptcy-related recoveries, increased 20 percent.

Same-store sales declined by 4.5 percent during the quarter, which the company points out represents a significant improvement compared to the two previous quarters in which the decline was 12.8 percent and 14.9 percent and compared to the prior year fourth quarter in which the decline was 13.5 percent.

“After a strong first two months of the fourth quarter, we continued to deliver solid financial results through the close of 2004,” said president and ceo Aylwin Lewis. “While we are pleased with our performance, our return to solid, profitable operations is only the first stage in our effort to revitalize this organization. We look forward to what still needs to be accomplished and plan to continue our momentum by further improving our operations and the customer shopping experience in 2005.”