US luxury department store chain Nordstrom has reported net sales of $3.20bn in the third quarter (Q3) of FY2023.

This is a decrease of 6.8% from $3.43bn in Q3 FY2022.

Net sales for the brand’s Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack banners decreased by 9.4% and 1.8%, respectively.

The decline was driven by the closing down of its Canadian operations, which the company said negatively affected its total net sales of 270 basis points (bps).

The retailer’s digital sales fell 11.3% in Q3 FY2023, compared to the same period in FY22, representing 34% of the quarter’s total sales.

During the quarter which ended 28 October 2023, Nordstrom's gross merchandise value (GMV) decreased by 7.1% against the prior year's quarter.

Nordstrom recorded net earnings of $67m in Q3 FY2023 against a net loss of $20m in Q3 FY2022.

Its earnings per diluted share (EPS) for the quarter were $0.41 and its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were $102m compared to $3m a year ago.

As a percentage of net sales, the company's gross profit was 35.0%. This is an increase of 180bps compared to the same period in FY22.

Nordstrom attributed the growth to lower markdowns, buying and occupancy costs, as well as increased inventory productivity.

Nordstrom chief executive officer Erik Nordstrom said: "In the third quarter,r we continued to make progress against our priorities and we're especially pleased with the resulting improvements in gross margin and earnings.

"Given continued uncertainty and softening consumer spend, we're remaining agile and focused on serving our customers."

For FY2023, the retailer expects a revenue decline of 4.0% to 6.0% compared to FY2022 and an EBIT margin of 1.8% to 2.1% of sales.

Including charges from the closure of Canadian operations, Nordstrom expects EPS to be in the range of $0.74 to $0.94 for FY2023.