Starbucks posts first quarterly loss in 15 years

Seattle: Coffee giant Starbucks has announced its first quarterly net loss in more than 15 years.

The US company lost $6.7m in the second quarter of 2008, compared to a whopping $158.3m profit for the same period in 2007.

It has attributed the loss to the added costs of closing more than 600 stores and added that sales had risen by nine per cent.

Starbucks has been struggling as consumers turn their back on expensive brands in the US due to the slowdown in the economy.