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CompUSA's corporate sales fall

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE: CompUSA, the retailer of personal computers, said fiscal first-quarter sales fell 2 percent from a year earlier on lower direct sales to corporate customers, governments and schools.



CompUSA said sales fell to $1.36 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 25, from $1.39 billion in the year-earlier period. Sales at its 195 stores fell 0.3 percent and direct sales declined as the company stopped selling to less profitable customers.



The company said it expects an improvement in fiscal first- quarter results compared with its fourth quarter ended June 26. It was expected to lose 6 cents a share in the first quarter, the average estimate of six analysts surveyed by First Call. CompUSA had a loss of 16 cents a share in its fourth quarter.



Declining sales come as the company is cutting jobs and closing stores to stem a drop in profits, which have fallen the past six quarters on shrinking PC prices and growing Internet competition. It is reorganizing its sales by region.



Shares of CompUSA fell 1/8 to 6. It will announce results on Nov. 4 after the market closes. The company said first-quarter sales figures include those at the 33 Computer City stores that CompUSA is operating. Such sales are included only for September in calculating same-store sales. Only retail sales are included in the same-store results for the quarter, and direct sales are excluded.

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