Jeweler Zale Corp. says closing stores and cutting costs helped it report a fourth-quarter profit in spite of anemic sales.
Shares rose 9 percent in premarket trading.
The struggling retailer says quarterly profit totaled $6.7 million, or 21 cents per share. Revenue fell 14 percent to $582.3 million.
Zale has seen its sales sag during the recession and been hurt by tight credit markets. The company has closed hundreds of stores in the past two years. Its CEO and other executives left in January following a tough holiday season.
Zale is working with Peter J. Solomon Co. on financing alternatives to improve its liquidity.
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