JCPenney’s sales are still falling — just not as fast as they were before.
The flailing retailer gave that glass-half-full announcement Tuesday, hoping to ease Wall Street’s fears as the company scrambles to recover from ex-CEO Ron Johnson’s botched turnaround bid.
Penney said its comparable sales fell 4 percent in September, but noted that it was less steep than a nearly 10 percent drop in August.
CEO Mike Ullman, who took the helm in April, predicted sales trends will improve through the remainder of the year as a return to coupons and discounting lures back shoppers.
Penney said it expects to end the year with more than $2 billion on its balance sheet, following a $785 million stock issuance last month that caught investors off guard.
Penney’s battered shares — which have sunk to their lowest levels since the mid-1980s — rose as much as 7 percent on the news before losing nearly all of the gain to close at $7.77, up 6 cents, Tuesday.
Several analysts voiced skepticism about Penney’s upbeat report, raising doubts about Penney’s prospects in what promises to be a fiercely competitive holiday season.
Belus Capital Advisors analyst Brian Sozzi blasted the announcement as “just another cleverly worded press release designed to mask the truth.”