Dillard’s Inc. earned $170.3 million in its most recent fiscal year, a decline of 23 percent compared the previous fiscal year attributed to a smaller tax benefit related to the 2017 federal tax law, according to financial results released after the end of trading on Monday.

Earnings per share fared better, declining 17 percent to $6.23. The company bought back $127.9 million worth of Class A common stock during the most recent fiscal year.

Net sales for the year that ended Feb. 2 were $6.356 billion, an improvement of about 1.5 percent over the previous fiscal year, which included an additional week. Net sales for the Little Rock retailer include approximately $235 million in revenue for its CDI Contractors LLC subsidiary; merchandise sales were up about 2 percent as were sales at stores open at least a year.

“Our 2 percent comparable store sales increase for 2018 is comprised of four quarters of positive sales. For the year, we held retail gross margin and operating expenses flat as a percent of sales. Additionally, during 2018, we returned $139 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends,” CEO William Dillard II said in the earnings release.

Net income for the fiscal year that ended in February 2018 included an estimated tax benefit of $77.4 million related to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017. The comparable benefit for the year that ended earlier this month was $2.9 million.

Dillard’s fourth-quarter sales, $2.011 billion, were down slightly, but the fiscal quarter included 13 weeks compared to 14 in the comparable quarter that ended in February 2018. Net sales for the 13 weeks ended Feb. 2, 2019, were $2.011 billion. They were $2.061 billion for the 14 weeks ended Feb. 3, 2018. Without the extra week to compete against, total merchandise sales increased 1 percent and sales in comparable stores increased 2 percent, according to the release.