Big 5 cuts fiscal 2nd-quarter guidance, blames slow economic recovery, cold West Coast weather
By APThursday, July 8, 2010
Big 5 cuts guidance, cites cold West Coast weather
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Sports gear retailer Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. cut its earnings guidance for the second quarter on Thursday, sending shares down in extended trading.
Big 5 also said second-quarter revenue in stores open at least a year slipped by 0.5 percent.
The retailer said it now expects to earn 20 to 23 cents per share for the three months that ended July 4. In May, Big 5 had predicted earnings of 24 to 30 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had been expecting net income of 28 cents per share.
Big 5 attributed the shortfall to the pace of the economic recovery and cold temperatures on the West Coast that kept people from buying summer gear. The company said sales over the Fourth of July weekend were encouraging.
The stock slid 72 cents, or 6 percent, to $11.29 in after-hours trading. During the regular session, Big 5 shares fell 43 cents, or 3.5 percent, to close at $12.01.
Revenue in stores open at least a year is a key indicator of a retailer’s performance because it excludes results from stores that open or close during the year.
Big 5 said it ended the fiscal quarter with 388 stores.
The company said it will report earnings during the first week of August.
