Warmer-than-usual winter stings Dick’s 4Q

CORAOPOLIS / AP

Dick’s Sporting Goods fiscal fourth-quarter performance missed Wall Street’s view as warmer-than-usual winter weather crimped the sporting goods retailer’s sales. It also provided guidance below analysts’ estimates.
The stock dropped more than 5 percent this week.
Many people are wondering how Dick’s will fare now that rival Sports Authority has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Last week privately held Sports Authority announced its bankruptcy filing, saying that it planned to close or sell about a third of its 463 stores.
Dick’s may be able to take advantage by grabbing some of the customers that had gone to Sports Authority stores that are going to be closed.
For the period ended January 30, the Pennsylvania-based company earned $129 million, or $1.13 per share. A year earlier it earned $155.5 million, or $1.30 per share.
The latest results were below the $1.15 per share that analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research predicted.
Revenue rose to $2.24 billion from $2.16 billion, but Zacks’ analysts expected higher revenue of $2.28 billion.
Dick’s said that sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, fell 2.5 percent in the quarter due to unseasonably warm weather. At its namesake stores, the figure dropped 2.5 percent, while at Golf Galaxy sales at stores open at least a year declined 5.8 percent.
The chain posted a full-year adjusted profit of $2.87 per share on revenue of $7.27 billion.
Going forward, Dick’s foresees fiscal 2016 earnings in a range of approximately $2.85 to $3 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are looking for $3.23 per share. Sales at stores open at least a year are expected to be about flat to up 2 percent.
The company expects a first-quarter profit of about 48 cents to 50 cents per share, with same-store sales approximately flat to up 1 percent. FactSet analysts predict a profit of 54 cents per share.
Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. fell $2.25, or 5.2 percent, to $42.09 in morning trading. Its shares are down 25
percent so far this year.