Hot Topic Shares Drop on Loss

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Hot Topic Inc. shares dropped 10 percent Thursday, a day after the trendy mall retailer posted a net loss in its first quarter, primarily due to declining revenue at its flagship stores and online unit.

The teen-oriented City of Industry retailer late Wednesday reported a net loss of $1.8 million (4 cents a share) compared with net income of $1.2 million (3 cents) a year earlier.

About 2 cents of the loss was related to the company’s ShockHound online site, it said.

Revenue dropped 7 percent to less than $163 million. Same-store sales fell more than 8 percent. The company’s Hot Topic stores were down more than 12 percent but plus-size Torrid stores were up nearly 5 percent. The company did not break out ShockHound revenue.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected a loss of 3 cents per share on revenue of more than $163 million.

Hot Topic said it now expects a second quarter loss of 7 cents to 10 cents per share. The analyst consensus is a per-share loss of 7 cents.

Shares on Thursday closed down 65 cents, or 10 percent, to $5.88 on the Nasdaq and lost 2 percent on Wednesday prior to the earnings release.

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