Sears reports wider-than-expected loss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp <SHLD.O> reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as sales at its namesake stores plunged both at its home turf and in Canada.

The company, whose sales have fallen every year since it was formed, reported a net loss of $170 million, or $1.58 a share, compared with a year-earlier net profit of $16 million, or 14 cents a share.

Excluding items, the loss was $1.39 a share, while analysts on average expected only a loss of $1.22, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)