Kohl's Corp., the mid-tier department store operator, posted better-than-expected earnings for the past year's fourth-quarter, but announced expected earnings for the complete fiscal year which might fall short of Wall Street estimated, mainly because of weak consumer sentiment.

In premarket trading, shares of the company declined by 1.7%.

"Consumers continue to be financially strained and are looking for value and ways to make their dollars go further. As a result, we are planning conservatively in our sales expectations, inventory levels and expenses", Chief Executive Kevin Mansell said.

Although the forecast shared by Kohl's might end up disappointing investors, it does tend to be more conservative about future results than its competitors.

For the three months up-to January 30, 2010, the company's net earnings hiked by 23.8% to $431 million, or $1.40 per share, from the previous year's figure of $336 Million, $1.10 a share.

Kohl's has now predicted per share earnings for the first quarter to fall between 48 to 52 cents, and $3.63 for the complete year.