Toys R Us Inc , which is looking to go public next year, reported a quarterly loss equal to a year earlier, as interest expense declined even as sales at established stores fell.

The world's largest dedicated toy retailer said its net loss was $93 million in the third quarter ended October 29, equal to the loss a year earlier.

Sales dipped to $2.70 billion from $2.72 billion. Interest expense fell to $106 million from $158 million a year earlier.

The New Jersey-based retailer, which operates stores under its namesake brand and the Babies R Us and FAO Schwarz labels, said same-store sales fell 2.2 percent in its domestic unit, while those at its international segment fell 3.9 percent.

Toys R Us was taken private in 2005 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital and Vornado Realty Trust in a $6.6 billion deal. The chain filed its IPO paperwork in May 2010 but is not expected to go public until 2012, two sources told Reuters in early July.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in New York and Brad Dorfman in Chicago, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)