Fitness financials: Hibbett's Q4 profit declines, expects difficult year

Hibbett Sports (Nasdaq: HIBB) said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 36 percent, hurt by a difficult retail environment.

Net income for the quarter dropped to $8.1 million, or $0.26 per share, from $12.6 million, or $0.39 per share, in 2006. Results were at the top end of Hibbett’s fourth-quarter earnings outlook of between $0.20 and $0.26 per share, which it lowered in January.

Revenue declined 5.5 percent to $142.8 million from $151.2 million last year. Same-store sales fell 7.3 percent on a comparable 13-week basis and were down 4.7 percent on a fiscal basis.

The company said its fourth quarter was heavily influenced by generally unfavorable economic factors combined with the lack of new product trends.

For the fiscal year, earnings fell 19 percent to $30.8 million, or $0.98 per share, from $38.1 million, or $1.17 per share last year. Revenue rose 2 percent to $520.7 million, from $512.1 million last year.

Hibbett Sports expects a difficult retail environment during the fiscal year, predicting a profit between $0.88 to $1 per share for the year ending Jan. 31, 2009. It expects same-store sales, or sales in stores open at least one year, to be flat to down 3 percent.

“While sales thus far in fiscal 2009 show improvement over our fourth quarter results, we are conservative with our guidance due to current economic conditions, which are continuing to impact our customer’s spending habits,” said Mickey Newsome, chairman and CEO, in a statement.

The company will also issue only yearly guidance from now on, updated each quarter.

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