Major German retailer reports annual loss

Arcandor AG, the German retailer that controls tour operator Thomas Cook Group Plc, posted an annual loss on costs for cutting department-store jobs and closing the headquarters of holiday company MyTravel Group Plc.

The net loss was 745.7 million euros, or 3.35 euros a share, in the year through September, Essen, Germany-based Arcandor said yesterday in a statement handed out to reporters in Frankfurt. The company didn't provide a year-earlier figure as the so-called "rump fiscal year" included only nine months.

Arcandor spent 230 million euros to close the MyTravel headquarters and some stores after merging the company with Thomas Cook last year. The company also incurred expenses of 107 million euros to cut jobs at the Karstadt store chain, which posted an operating loss of 4.2 million euros for the year.