RadioShack may close stores or sell assets

RadioShack Corp. reported lower fourth-quarter sales and a loss for the year, and company officials said Tuesday the electronics retailer may have to close stores or sell assets if business does not pick up by next year, according to Reuters news service.

The electronics retailer’s stock, which had dropped 6 percent to $3.05 a share Monday, stabilized on Tuesday, rising 1 cent to $3.06.

RadioShack operates multiple stores throughout Southwest Ohio, including locations in the Upper Valley Mall in Springfield, Towne Mall in Middletown, adjacent to Bridgewater Falls in Fairfield Twp. near Hamilton, in the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek, and in the Dayton Mall in Miami Twp. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company has more than 4,600 company-run stores in the U.S. and Mexico.

RadioShack lost $63.3 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, pressured by weaker mobile sales. RadioShack’s loss amounted to 63 cents per share for the three months ended Dec. 31. A year earlier it reported net income of $11.9 million, or 12 cents per share. For the year, RadioShack Corp. lost $139.4 million, or $1.39 per share. The company reported net income of $72.2 million, or 70 cents per share, in the prior year.

“The most significant contributing factor to the decline in our performance was the postpaid wireless business which saw a decline in transaction volume across the year, combined with a lower margin rate,” Dorvin Lively, executive vice president, chief financial officer, said Tuesday in a news release.

Former Walgreen Co. executive Joseph Magnacca took over as RadioShack’s new CEO earlier this month, replacing James Gooch, who stepped down as RadioShack’s CEO in September after only a year and a half on the job.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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