Big Five 3Q same-store sales up 5.2 percent

Big Five Sporting Goods (Nasdaq: BGFV) reported stronger same-store sales for the second consecutive period as the national retailer recovers from a weak winter with a strong spring and summer.

Same-store sales were up 5.2 percent, while overall revenue rose 7.3 percent to $251.8 million in the third quarter 2012. The latter number includes the opening of two stores and closing of two stores, one being a relocation.

“Our summer product sales benefited from relatively favorable weather compared to the prior year,” officials said in the Nov. 1 earnings release. The results also reflect a “modest benefit” due to a shift of Fourth of July holiday sales into the third quarter, versus a year ago.

Big Five’s quarterly net income rose to $8.2 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, compared to a net income of $5.8 million, or 27 cents per diluted share a year ago.

Company officials said sales and profit improvement came across the board in apparel, footwear and hardgoods due to increased customer traffic and average sale prices. “Positive sales trends have continued into the fourth quarter,” officials said, and they predicted another mid-single-digit percentage rise in same-store sales for the quarter ahead.

Big Five’s strong summer sets the stage for better results on the national retail outdoor, fitness and sporting goods stage. It was one of the hardest hit among its peers – including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hibbett Sports and Sports Chalet – due to the weak winter, but has recovered nicely.

Investors sent the stock up more than 11 percent in after-hours trading Thursday.

–David Clucas