Fitness financials: Q3 profit up 15 percent for Hibbett Sports, plus Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cybex, Nike, Sears, Foot Locker

Q3 profit up 15 percent for Hibbett Sports

Hibbett Sports (Nasdaq: HIBB) posted a 15 percent rise in profit as sales increased and gained better control of inventory and expenses.

For the quarter ended Oct. 31, it earned $8.8 million, or $0.30 per share, up from the $7.7 million, or $0.26 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $145.9 million from $140.1 million. Same-store sales fell 0.2 percent.

Looking ahead, the company raised its 2010 profit forecast to a range of $0.95 to $1.02 per share from $0.85 to $0.95 per share.

Hibbett authorized $250 million in share buybacks to be completed by Feb. 2, 2013. That program replaces one that was to expire Jan. 30, 2010, under which the company bought back $167 million in shares.



Dick’s Sporting Goods Q3 profit more than triples

Dick’s Sporting Goods’ (NYSE: DKS) third-quarter profit more than tripled, as the prior year’s results were hindered by higher expenses.

Dick’s earned $18.9 million, or $0.16 per share, versus $6.2 million, or $0.05 per share, a year earlier. It noted that the previous year’s results included $3.1 million in merger and integration costs, as well as higher pre-opening expenses of $7.5 million compared with $4.6 million in those expenses for the current quarter.

Sales for the period ended Oct. 31 increased 7 percent to $989.8 million from $924.2 million, as same-store sales climbed 1.9 percent. The retailer said sales were up on new store openings and the addition of e-commerce sales.

Dick’s raised its full-year adjusted profit guidance to a range of $1.04 to $1.09 per share from a range of $1.02 to $1.07 per share. For the fourth quarter, it expects earnings of $0.41 to $0.46 per share.

Cybex Capital Group hires VP

Cybex International (Nasdaq: CYBI) said Thomas J. Gordhamer has joined Cybex Capital as vice president.

Gordhamer has over 30 years experience in the financial services industry and was previously with Icon Capital Corp.

At Cybex Capital, his role will be to expand the number of domestic and international funding partners offering both leases and loans for the commercial buyers of Cybex fitness equipment.

Nike declares cash dividend

The board of directors of Nike (NYSE: NKE) has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share on the company’s Class A and Class B common stock. The company said it represents an 8 percent increase over the previous quarterly rate of $0.25 per share.

The $0.27 quarterly dividend, which is payable on Jan. 4, 2010, to shareholders of record on Dec. 7, 2009, represents an 8 percent increase over the previous quarterly rate of $0.25 per share.

Sears narrows Q3 loss

Sears Holdings’ (Nasdaq: SHLD) third-quarter loss narrowed amid inventory and other cost cuts, but sales continued to fall.

For the quarter ended Oct. 31, the company posted a loss of $127 million, or $1.09 a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $146 million, or $1.16 a share. Excluding items such as store-closing costs and write-downs, the loss narrowed to $0.81 a share from $0.90 a share.

Total revenues fell 4 percent to $10.2 billion compared to total revenues of $10.7 billion last year.

The company said the decrease was primarily due to lower comparable store sales and 56 fewer Kmart and Sears full-line stores. It was partially offset by an increase of $42 million due to the impact of foreign currency exchange rates.

Domestic comparable store sales declined 2.3 percent, and included an increase at Kmart of 0.5 percent, offset by a decline at Sears Domestic of 4.6 percent.



Foot Locker swings to Q3 loss

Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) reported a loss for the third quarter, saying consumers spent less at its stores. It also wrote down the value of its assets by $22 million.

The company lost $6 million, or $0.04 per share, in the quarter that ended Oct. 31, versus a profit of $24 million, or $0.16 per share, a year earlier.

Its revenue fell 7 percent to $1.21 billion from $1.31 billion. Same-store sales fell 8.2 percent during the quarter.

It also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share, which will be payable on Jan. 29, 2010, to shareholders of record on Jan. 15, 2010.

–Compiled by Wendy Geister

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