BUSINESS MEMO: MAY EARNINGS DIP 9 PERCENT

ST. LOUIS (AP) - May Department Stores Co. saw fourth-quarter earnings dip 9 percent, largely because of a one-time $44 million after-tax charge related to the closing and relocation of about 450 Payless ShoeSource stores.

For the quarter ending Feb. 3, the St. Louis-based retailer reported net earnings of $362 million, or $1.37 per share. That compared to earnings of $401 million, or $1.51 per share, a year ago.

St. Louis-based May is one of the nation's largest department store retailers, with 346 department stores that include the Lord & Taylor, Foley's and Famous-Barr chains. The company announced last month that it plans to spin off the Payless ShoeSource division by May. There are about 4,549 Payless and Payless Kids stores.

For the full year, net earnings were $752 million, or $2.82 per share, down from $782 million, or $2.92 per share, in 1995. Sales rose to $10.5 billion, up from $9.8 billion a year ago.