The Vitamin Shoppe releases its last earnings reportThe Vitamin Shoppe releases its last earnings report

In what is expected to be its last earnings report as a public company, The Vitamin Shoppe Inc. announced Wednesday that its total sales dropped 8.5% in the third quarter.

The company released its earnings via press release and did not host a conference call to discuss them. The quarter ended Sept. 28.

For the third quarter, total sales were $253.1 million; comparable sales fell 7.7% compared to a year ago. Other results also were negative:

On the positive side, the company's operating loss of $2.4 million was lower than the 2018 loss of $3.2 million. Gross profit rose slightly, to 31.8% from 31.3%.

The company closed two stores during the quarter and opened one; 764 stores were open at the end of the quarter.

In August, The Vitamin Shoppe announced via press release that it had agreed to be acquired by Liberty Tax Inc., which is now Franchise Group Inc. Under the agreement, Franchise Group will acquire all common shares for $6.50 each in cash.

The Vitamin Shoppe said the merger should be completed during the fourth quarter, but shareholders have not yet voted on the agreement.

Related:Sales, profit continue to fall at The Vitamin Shoppe despite improvement efforts