Circuit City said today that a decline in cathode-ray tube and projection television sales more than offset a small increase in flat-panel TV revenue, causing U.S. comparable video department sales to drop almost 10% in the fiscal second quarter. The No. 2 U.S. electronics retailer, which said its loss for the quarter almost quadrupled from a year earlier, also said today that it withdrew its fiscal 2009 financial projections.

Circuit City’s same-store flat-panel TV sales for the quarter ended Aug. 31 rose less than 5%, far less than the 22% growth in liquid-crystal display and plasma TV sales projected in North America this year by NPD Group unit DisplaySearch earlier this month. Circuit City’s video sales were further hindered by a drop in DVD player sales of more than 10%.

Overall, the company’s net loss widened to $239.2 million, or $1.45 a share, from a loss of $62.8 million, or 38 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 9.6% to $2.39 billion, with comparable-store revenue dropping 13%.

The company’s same-store sales were a “mess,” wrote Pali Research analyst Stacy Widlitz in a note to clients today. “We are also concerned free financing promotions that drive TV sales will be harder to come by.”

Circuit City said it would try to spark holiday-season sales with actions such as improving inventory on advertised products and improving in-store signage.

Last week, Circuit City replaced Chief Executive Officer Philip Schoonover with board member, ex-Hollywood Entertainment executive and acting CEO James Marcum in an effort to improve its turnaround efforts. In July, U.S. movie-rental chain leader Blockbuster dropped its 4-month-old bid worth as much as $1.32 billion to buy Circuit City, which in May hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic alternatives.

While Marcum said market conditions force the company to direct its efforts away from strategic alternatives toward operations, "Frankly, all options are on the table," he said.

Earlier this month, U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy said a jump in flat-panel TV sales of more than 10% wasn’t enough to offset an increase in sales of lower-margin items like videogames and notebook computers as second-quarter earnings fell 19%.

Circuit City shares plunged about 25% today.