Signet Jewelers called its first quarter results “encouraging,” with sales down only 1%, and profits up 3.2%.

The company said it made “significant progress” towards achieving financial objectives for fiscal 2010. Same store sales were down 2.9%, compared to a decline of 14.9% in the final quarter of 2009. Total sales were $762.6 million, down 1.1% at constant exchange rates.

Its income before income taxes was $41.4 million, up 3.2% from the year before.

Terry Burman, Signet Jewelers’ chief executive, commented: “We have had a good start to the year reflecting the impact of our operational initiatives, and have made significant progress towards achieving our financial objectives for fiscal 2010. The retail environment remains very uncertain therefore we will continue to execute our strategy of enhancing Signet’s position as the strongest middle market specialty jeweler, strengthening our balance sheet by maximizing profits and cash flow, and reducing business risk.”

JCK