Fitness financials: TSA's Q1 hit by Gart integration costs, plus Bally, Forzani, Amer, GSI, Foot Locker, Costco

TSA’s Q1 hit by Gart integration costs
First-quarter earnings for The Sports Authority (NYSE: TSA) were $7.95 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with last year’s profit of $4.15 million or 16 cents a share. Integrating Gart Sports with The Sports Authority cost the company about $8.55 million, or 20 cents a share. Excluding that, the company said it would have made $9.4 million, or 36 cents a share. Sales at stores open longer than a year rose 3.4 percent to $591.2 million. Costs, however, climbed 4.3 percent to $430.4 million. The results also include other income that the company didn’t define. That jumped up nearly 80 percent to $934,000 from $520,000. Taxes nearly doubled as well, up to $7.95 million from $4.15 million.

Stock options for new Bally hires
Bally Total Fitness Holding (NYSE:BFT) has granted stock option and restricted stock inducement awards to new employees on the payroll. Chief Financial Officer Carl J. Landeck was granted 75,000 options and 100,000 shares of restricted stock. Chief Marketing Officer Jim McDonald was granted 20,000 options and 100,000 shares of restricted stock, and Treasurer Katherine L. Abbott was granted 20,000 shares of restricted stock. All are contingent on vesting conditions, the company said. The stock options vest in three equal annual installments on the anniversary of the grant date and would be forfeited before vesting if the executives resign or are terminated for cause. The company said the restricted stock has a four-year vesting provision, and will fully vest after a change in control or employee termination without cause.

Forzani’s board loses one, gains one
The Forzani Group Ltd. (TSX: FGL), Canada’s largest retailer of sporting goods, said that Robert Brawn would not seek re-election to the company’s board of directors. His retirement will be effective at the company’s annual general and special meeting of shareholders on June 8. He has been on the board since 1993. Paul Walters has agreed to join the board, as an independent member, subject to shareholder approval at the June 8 meeting. Walters has served as past chairman, president and CEO of Sears Canada Inc. In addition, he held a number of executive management positions with Hudson’s Bay Company.

Amer plans listing cancellation
Amer Sports has requested the cancellation of the secondary listing of its fully paid-up ordinary shares on the official list of the UK Listing Authority, effective June 17. The company’s ordinary shares will be continue to be traded on the main list of the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

GSI gets OK from SEC on public offering
After a review by the SEC, GSI Commerce’s (Nasdaq: GSIC) public offering of its common stock and a new series of 20-year convertible notes was declared effective. The registration statement to the SEC relates to the offering of 1,791,914 shares of the company’s common stock to be sold by the company and 1,915,555 shares of common stock to be sold by selling stockholders, including Michael Rubin, chairman and CEO of the company, SOFTBANK Capital Partners and Rustic Canyon Ventures. The shares were priced at $14.84 per share. In addition, up to an additional 556,120 shares may be sold by the company and certain selling stockholders if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option granted to them. The offering is expected to close on June 1, 2005. The registration statement also related to the offering of $50 million aggregate principal amount of 3.0 percent convertible notes due 2025. Morgan Stanley is the bookrunning manager for the offerings, with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. acting as the co-lead manager and CIBC World Markets, Friedman Billings Ramsey and Pacific Crest Securities acting as co-managers.

Foot Locker declares dividend
Foot Locker’s (NYSE: FL) board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on the company’s common stock of $0.075 per share, which will be payable on July 29, 2005, to shareholders of record on July 15, 2005.

Costco profit up 6 percent in 3Q
Costco’s (NasdaqNM: COST) third-quarter income grew to $209.8 million, or 43 cents per share, from $198.7 million, or 42 cents, the previous year. Revenue including net sales and membership fees totaled $12 billion, up from $10.9 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales increased 7 percent.

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