Carter Hawley Reports 8% Dip

Carter Hawley Hale Stores Inc., the troubled operator of The Broadway and other department stores in California and Arizona, reported Friday that its third-quarter sales declined 8% and its losses widened to $17 million.

The company, which has been in bankruptcy reorganization since February, said sales for the period ended Nov. 2 were $509 million, 8.4% below the $556 million recorded the year before. Comparable-store sales for the period were 9.4% lower than those in 1990. Net loss for the period was $17 million, compared to a $14.9-million loss in the year-ago quarter.

For the first nine months of fiscal 1991, losses totaled $84.6 million, including $24.1 million in costs stemming from the company’s bankruptcy reorganization. During the comparable year-ago period, the company lost $47 million. Total sales in the first nine months of the fiscal year were $1.4 billion, 12.5% less than $1.6 billion for the same period in 1990. Comparable-store sales declined 11.1% during the first nine months of the year.