Federated Department Stores Inc. said Tuesday that its stores delivered “acceptable” results in the fourth quarter, but profits were reduced by the cost of restructuring at its Stern's division and writing down the value of its Internet investments.

        For the full year, Federated posted its first annual loss since emerging from bankruptcy protection in 1992.

        “Last year (1999), we had a simple year. It was the best in our history, and everything was good,” said James Zimmerman, Federated's chairman and CEO. “This year (2000) is up against that year, and had some issues.”

        The issues in 2000 included $873 million in write-offs related its Fingerhut catalog and Internet businesses. Federated also announced last month that it would shut down its Stern's division, converting most of the stores to Macy's or Bloomingdale's.

        For the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2, the company earned $332 million, or $1.65 a share, on sales of $6.1 billion. Profits were down 26 percent from a year earlier, while sales rose 2.4 percent. Without the charges for Stern's and the Internet, the company earned $2.15 a share in the quarter, up from $2.04 a year ago.

        Sales at stores open one year were up 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with 4 percent increases in each of the previous two years.

        For the full year, Federated lost $184 million on sales of $18.4 billion, compared to a profit of $795 million, or $3.62 per share, on sales of $17.7 billion.

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