Hibbett Sports Q1 Profit Misses Estimates; Revises FY16 Guidance

(RTTNews) - Hibbett Sports, Inc. (HIBB), a sporting goods retailer, reported first-quarter net income of $27.4 million, compared to $28.4 million, last year. Earnings per share was $1.09, flat with prior year.

On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $1.13 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales increased 3.0% to $269.8 million from $261.9 million, a year ago. Comparable store sales decreased 0.9%. Analysts expected revenue of $274.07 million for the quarter.

For the quarter, Hibbett opened 15 new stores, expanded 3 high performing stores and closed 2 underperforming stores, bringing the store base to 1,001 in 32 states as of May 2, 2015.

Jeff Rosenthal, President and CEO, stated, "We experienced early headwinds in the quarter, with February posting a negative high-single-digit comp due to impacts from weather-related closures, port delays and a shift in the timing of tax refunds. We were pleased with our performance in March and April, and we have seen this trend improve in May."

The company revised its guidance for the 52 weeks ending January 30, 2016, to earnings per share in the range of $2.95 to $3.04, with comparable store sales in the low single-digit range. This compares with previous guidance of earnings per share in the range of $2.95 to $3.09, with comparable store sales in the low-to-mid single digit range. Analysts expect the company to report fiscal 2016 earnings per share of $3.03.