The chief executive of Kohl's insists the retailer is powering through its turnaround even as sales continued to decline in its latest quarter.

Net sales fell 0.9% to $3.3 billion for the three months ended Aug. 1, in line with the consensus estimate among analysts tracked by FactSet. Comparable sales fell just as much, though this was less severe than the 1.1% drop in the previous quarter.

CEO Michael Bender said the results "reflect the ongoing progress against our initiatives," including "another improvement" in the company's comparable sales trend. "While we are encouraged with the momentum we have made thus far, we know there is critical work ahead of us," Bender added.

Kohl's raised its fiscal-year outlook to reflect the impact of tariff refunds received in the second quarter. Management now expects net and comparable sales to be flat to down 1.5% versus its previous forecast of a 2% drop to flat. Adjusted earnings are forecast to land between $1.80 to $2.40 a share, up from a prior range of $1 to $1.60. Analysts were looking for $1.45.

Shares tumbled 6.1% in premarket trading Wednesday. Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 index were flat.