MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Corp. today reported a fiscal third-quarter loss of $12 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the company said it had a loss of 8 cents. Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs, were 1 cent per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 43 cents per share.

The department store operator posted revenue of $3.98 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.06 billion.

Kohl’s shares have decreased 49% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has risen 12%. The stock has fallen 55% in the past 12 months.