Foothill Ranch-based mall retailer Wet Seal Inc. reported quarterly results in line with expectations Thursday but lowered its profit and sales outlook for the critical holiday quarter.

Shares of the company were down about 5% in afterhours trading on a market value of $315 million.

Wet Seal, which runs clothing stores for girls and young women, said it expects a profit of $3.4 million to $7.9 million for the three months through January.

Wall Street analysts on average had been expecting a profit of $9 million.

Wet Seal projected sales of $149 million to $155 million, versus the $156 million analysts had been looking for.

“We have seen a notable decline in comparable store sales trends during the first half of November,” Chief Executive Ed Thomas said. "We believe, at a minimum, that the consumer is taking a pause after Halloween and before the start of the holiday shopping season.”

On Monday, Orange County’s other major mall retailer, Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of Anaheim Inc., also offered a disappointing outlook for the current quarter.

Wet Seal’s results came on the heels of results for the three months through October that met or beat Wall Street estimates.

Profit came in at $4.5 million, down 33% from a year earlier but even with expectations.

Sales beat expectations at $141.5 million, down 3.5% from a year earlier.