Fitness financials: Dick's Q2 profit up on higher same-store sales, plus Crocs, Winmark, Hibbett, California Family Health, Sears, Wal-Mart

Dick’s Q2 profit up on higher same-store sales
Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) reported that its second-quarter profit rose, as stores it acquired from Galyan’s Trading Co. in 2004 lifted sales.

Net income rose to $25.7 million, or $0.47 per share, from $22.1 million, or $0.41 per share, a year ago. Revenue increased by 18 percent: $734 million from $622 million. Analyst estimates had forecast a profit of $0.44 per share on projected sales of $704.8 million.

Sales in stores open at least one year rose 6.5 percent, lifted by the former Galyan’s stores, the company said.

For the current third quarter, Dick’s forecast earnings between $0.03 to $0.04 per share, and a same-store sales increase of 3 percent to 4 percent. For fiscal 2006, the retailer forecast profit between $1.84 to $1.88 per share, up from a prior target of $1.81 to $1.85 per share. Same-store sales for the year are expected to grow 4 percent.

In the second quarter, the company opened five stores, and now operates 268 stores.

Crocs prices offering of 8.3 million shares
Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX) has priced an underwritten secondary public offering of about 8.3 million shares of common stock by certain stockholders at $27.66 per share. The underwriters were given a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 1.2 million shares from certain shareholders to cover any overallotments. Crocs will not receive any proceeds from the offering. Piper Jaffray and Thomas Weisel Partners are joint book runners with Cowen and Co., BB&T Capital Markets, D.A. Davidson & Co. and Wedbush Morgan Securities serving as co-managers for the offering.

Winmark to repurchase 500,000 of its shares
Winmark Corp. (Nasdaq: WINA), which provides financial services and develops retail franchises like Play It Again Sports, said it will repurchase 500,000, or 9 percent, of its outstanding shares. The repurchase is in addition to about 500 shares remaining under an existing buyback authorization. Since 1995, Winmark has repurchased 3.5 million shares at an average price of $13.73 per share.

Hibbett reports lower Q2 profit
After lowering its second-quarter guidance the previous week, Hibbett Sporting Goods (Nasdaq: HIBB) said that quarter’s profit dipped 17.3 percent as expenses edged higher.

The company earned $4 million, or $0.12 per share, down 17.3 percent from $4.9 million, or $0.14 per share, a year ago. Net sales were up 11 percent to $104.4 million from $94 million. Same-store sales increased six-tenths of a percentage point.

Store operating, selling and administrative expenses rose to $23.5 million from $19.8 million. During the quarter, the company repurchased 300,000 shares of stock for $8.3 million and opened 15 new stores while closing 3.

The company said the second half of its fiscal year 2007 will be tough to compare with the same period a year ago because of a sales spike due to post-Hurricane Katrina sales.

Hibbett expects earnings between 26 cents per share and 29 cents per share during the third quarter and a same-store-sales increase between 2 percent and 3 percent. For fiscal year 2007, the company sees earnings per share between $1.08 and $1.12 with a same-store-sales increase between 2 percent and 3 percent.

Also, Hibbett’s board of directors authorized an increase in the amount of common stock it can buyback by $50 million to $150 million through Feb. 2, 2008.

California Family Health receives funding from Bunker Hill Capital
Bunker Hill Capital has made a “significant investment” in California Family Health, the operator of 13 California Family Fitness clubs in the Sacramento, Calif., area. The influx of funds will help it with expansion plans, including two additional clubs opening in 2007.

Co-founders Larry Gury and Russ Kuhn remain significant owners of the company and continue to oversee day-to-day operations as co-presidents together with their senior management team.

“We joined forces with Bunker Hill Capital because they have proven that they are a value-added partner. They will provide our business with a new level of expertise that will help us grow while still maintaining the same level of quality service to our members. In addition, they share our commitment to maintaining the family atmosphere throughout our company,” Gury said in a statement.

Profit up 83 percent for Sears Holdings
Sears Holdings (Nasdaq: SHLD) posted an 83 percent jump in quarterly profit, helped by a litigation gain and cost cutting that helped offset slumping sales at its namesake stores.

In the second quarter, profit rose to $294 million, or $1.88 per share, from $161 million, or $0.98 per share, a year earlier. Excluding an after-tax gain of $22 million, or $0.14 per share, from the settlement of Visa/MasterCard antitrust litigation, earnings in the latest period were $1.74 a share.

Sears Holdings, the company that formed when Kmart bought Sears, Roebuck and Co. last year, has been cutting expenses and eliminating clearance sales to boost profits. The result has been strong cash flow but weak sales.

Selling, general and administrative costs fell to $2.8 billion from $3.0 billion a year earlier. Total revenues declined 3 percent to $12.8 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 3.8 percent, with Sears stores down 6.3 percent, and Kmart stores down 0.6 percent.

Wal-Mart posts first drop in profit in a decade
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) posted its first profit decline in a decade as it paid a hefty price for closing its loss-making German stores while high energy prices hit its sales and costs at home.

For the second quarter, Wal-Mart posted net income of $2.08 billion, or $0.50 per share, down from $2.81 billion, or $0.67 per share, a year ago. That includes an $863 million charge for the sale of its German stores to Metro AG. Wal-Mart pulled out of Germany in July and South Korea two months earlier after racking up losses there. It said it would focus resources on expanding in more profitable markets like China and Latin America.

Excluding the German and South Korean operations, the sales of which are both pending, Wal-Mart’s income from continuing operations grew 5 percent to $2.98 billion, or $0.72 per share, from $2.85 billion, or $0.68 per share, a year ago.

Results were still in line with expectations and the company reiterated its guidance for the year.

Sales at stores open at least a year were up 1.5 percent at Wal-Mart U.S. stores in the second quarter, compared to 3.8 percent in the first quarter and 3.6 percent a year ago.

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