Toys R Us posts 2nd-quarter loss on higher costs, lawsuit settlement in prior year

Toys R Us posts 2nd-quarter loss on higher costs

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys R Us Inc. posted a loss for its fiscal second quarter as its costs rose.

The retailer said it lost $14 million, or 29 cents per share, in the quarter ending July 31. A year earlier, when the company’s revenue included a $51 million payment from Amazon.com to settle a lawsuit, Toys R Us earned $27 million, or 54 cents per share.

Revenue was essentially unchanged at $2.57 billion. But the company’s payroll, rent and other expenses rose.

Privately held Toys R Us announced in late May that it plans to go public again by raising as much as $800 million in an initial public offering that would be one of the biggest retail IPOs in years.

The company finished the quarter with 21 new international locations, wholly owned or licensed, for a total of 726. In the U.S. its store count stayed the same at 848.