Retailer loses $146 million

Sears Holdings Corp. posted a loss Tuesday that was wider than analysts estimated as cash-strapped consumers bought less clothing, appliances and home furnishings, pushing sales down for the seventh straight quarter.

Sears abandoned its earnings forecast for the remainder of the year and said it would repurchase as much as $500 million in additional shares and close more stores.

Fiscal third-quarter revenue fell 8.3% to $10.7 billion. The results indicate that Chairman Edward Lampert has yet to find a successful strategy to win customers since he brought the Sears and Kmart chains together in 2005.

“It’s an unmitigated disaster,” said Bill Dreher, senior retail analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York. “It doesn’t appear that they can control their business. They are woefully unprepared to navigate this incredibly difficult environment.”

The loss of $146 million, or $1.16 a share, for the three months ended Nov. 1 compared with net income of $4 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier, Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears said. Excluding one-time items, Sears said it lost 90 cents a share.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated an average third-quarter loss of 51 cents a share.

Sears shares surged $4.25, or 13%, to $36.09 after falling 12% on Monday. The additional stock buyback helped assuage investors.