Fitness financials: Life Time Fitness' Q4 profit climbs 35 percent, plus Winmark/Play It Again Sports, Iconix, Wal-Mart

Life Time Fitness’ Q4 profit climbs 35 percent

Fourth-quarter profit jumped 35 percent for Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM) due to big boosts in both membership dues and in-center revenue.

For the quarter, net income rose to $19.1 million, or $0.48 per share, from $14.1 million, or $0.38 per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue jumped 23 percent to $171.1 million from $139.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

The company said both membership dues and in-center revenue grew more than 20 percent during the period.

For the year, profit rose 35 percent to $68 million, or $1.78 per share, from $50.6 million, or $1.37 per share in the prior year. Revenue climbed 28 percent to $655.8 million from $511.9 million in 2006.

The company said it expects profit of $2.05 to $2.08 per share in 2008. It also predicted 2008 revenue between $780 million and $800 million, driven by new center growth, new members and in-center revenue growth.

Play It Again Sports’ parent reports slight bump in Q4 income

Winmark Corp. (Nasdaq: WINA), parent of the Play It Again Sports franchise chain, fourth-quarter net income rose slightly to $853,000, or $0.15 per share diluted, compared to $817,800, or $0.14 per share diluted, for the same period last year.

For FY 2007, the company’s net income was $3,044,800 or $0.54 per share diluted, compared to net income of $3,338,200 or $0.56 per share diluted, in 2006. Revenues for the year were $31.1 million up from $27.3 million in 2006.

John Morgan, chairman and CEO of Winmark, said in a statement, “While our leasing business did not grow as fast as we had planned, we are confident that we have the potential for solid growth in the future. As previously announced, our year-end results were impacted by the change in accounting for our investment in Tomsten Inc. (d/b/a Archiver’s).”

At the end of 2007, the company had 851 franchises with an additional 53 retail franchises awarded but not open yet. In addition, it had loans and leases equal to $43.9 million at year’s end.

Iconix Q4 profit more than doubles

Iconix Brand Group (Nasdaq: ICON), parent of Danskin Fitness, said its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled due to a big boost in licensing revenue.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, net income jumped to $19.2 million, or $0.31 per share, from $8.9 million, or $0.18 per share in the prior year quarter. Results included a gain of about $4.3 million related to litigation.

Licensing revenue rose 76 percent to $47.4 million from $26.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

For the year, profit jumped 96 percent to $63.8 million, or $1.04 per share, from $32.5 million, or $0.72 per share in the prior year. Revenue rose 98 percent to $160 million from $80.7 million in 2006.

The company affirmed its 2008 profit outlook and raised its revenue guidance. It expects to earn between $1.35 and $1.40 per share for the year, with revenue of $250 million to $260 million. Previously, the company predicted revenue of $240 million to $250 million. The company said it boosted revenue guidance because of “new revenue opportunities,” which it did not detail.

Wal-Mart reports Q4, FY ’07 earnings

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) reported that its fourth-quarter net profit rose to $4.096 billion, or $1.02 per share, from $3.94 billion, or $0.95 a share, a year earlier. Net sales grew 8.3 percent to $106.27 billion, helped by 18.8 percent international growth and 5 percent growth at U.S. Wal-Mart stores.

Fourth-quarter profit included a charge of $0.03 per share for dropped real estate projects and restructuring its Japanese operation as well as a $0.01 per share gain from real estate sales. Minus the charges, earnings would have been $1.04 per share.

For FY ’07, Wal-Mart earned $12.73 billion, or $3.13 a share, up from $11.28 billion, or $2.71, a year earlier. Net sales rose 8.6 percent to $374.53 billion. Overall revenue rose to $378.80 billion from $348.65 billion a year ago.

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