Kmart's decline in sales eases up, profit is expected for fourth quarter.

By Greta Guest, Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jan. 4--Kmart Holding Corp.'s sales dive slowed during the critical holiday season and it expects a profit for the fourth quarter.

The Troy-based retailer said its sales at stores open at least a year fell 2.6 percent in December. For both November and December, same-store sales were off by 4.6 percent. That compares with a 13. 5-percent decline in the same two months in 2003.

The holiday season was particularly rough for discount retailers as high gasoline prices pinched their core customers. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday it expected to report a 3-percent increase in December …