Sears Says it's Looking Up

Sears Holdings Corp. (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) said it anticipated a gain in net income for its fourth quarter ending Feb. 3, 2007, of between 15.7 percent and 28 percent.

However, same-store sales in the nine-week period ending Dec. 30, 2006, declined 1.2 percent at Kmart stores and 5.6 percent in Sears domestic stores. The company said Kmart apparel sales were negatively impacted by unseasonably warm weather. And the Sears performance was hurt by lower sales of garden items and appliances.