Hibbett Sports races past sales and earnings expectations in third quarter

By

Robin Driver

Published
Nov 23, 2019

Birmingham, Alabama-based sportswear retailer Hibbett Sports, Inc. reported a 27.0% increase in third-quarter sales on Friday and saw significant progress in its bottom line, beating out analysts’ predictions as its recently acquired City Gear business continues to boost growth.

For the third quarter ended November 2, 2019, the company announced $275.5 million in revenues, up from $216.9 million in the prior-year period. This included $43.7 million in sales from City Gear, which Hibbett acquired at the end of 2019. Comparable store sales rose 10.7% in the period.

Footwear and activewear sales continued to drive growth, while e-commerce sales represented 10.5% of total revenues.

Hibbett’s quarterly net income totaled $2.3 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, up from $1.5 million, or $0.08 per share, in the same period in the previous year.

The company’s adjusted earnings per share were $0.32, well above the $0.15 predicted by analysts polled by FactSet and cited by MarketWatch. Sales had been predicted to be around $260.7 million.

“The business continues to perform very well as evidenced by the positive comparable performance in both our brick and mortar locations and our e‑commerce business,” said Hibbett Sports President and CEO Jeff Rosenthal in a release. “This sales growth has been made possible by our team’s execution of our strategic focus to lead with sneakers and connect toe-to-head concepts within our apparel and team sports businesses.”

Over the period, the company opened four stores and closed 19, finishing the quarter with a total of 1,097 locations in 35 states.

Year to date, Hibbett’s net sales rose 24.0% to $871.2 million, compared to $702.7 million in the same period in the previous year, while comparable store sales rose 5.4%.
Net income for the period was $21.3 million, or $1.18 per diluted share, down from $21.8 million, or $1.15 per diluted share.

In line with its strong quarterly results, Hibbett increased its full-year guidance for fiscal 2020 and now expects to see an increase in comparable store sales of between 4.0% and 6.0%, compared to a previous range of 1.0% to 2.0%. Earnings per diluted share are now expected to total between $1.55 and $1.65, up from a previous guidance of $1.35 to $1.50.

Following the announcement of its stronger than expected financial results, shares in the company were up more than 20% in Friday morning trading.