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Kmart Cuts Dividend in Half: The discount retailer’s board also said the company is likely to report a loss on operations for the first quarter. In a news release announcing that the quarterly dividend had been cut to 12 cents from 24 cents, Kmart Corp. Chairman Donald Perkins said the board took the action to bring it “more in line with current earnings expectations for the year.” Kmart said sales and cost-cutting efforts for the quarter are in line with expectations but that gross profit margins are disappointing. The forecast for a loss does not include a one-time gain of 14 cents per share from the replacement of Kmart’s pension plan with a profit-sharing plan. The Troy, Mich.-based company said the loss is due mainly to a new inventory accounting system that will show first-quarter gross profit “significantly lower” than what would have been reported under the old system.