Fitness financials: Big 5 profit up 82 percent in Q1, plus Johnson Health Tech, Costco

Big 5 profit up 82 percent in Q1

Big 5 Sporting Goods (Nasdaq: BGFV) said its first-quarter profit jumped 82 percent, driven by growth in the number of customers shopping in the chain’s stores and higher average sales, especially of winter gear.

It posted net income for the three months ended April 1 of $5 million, or $0.23 per share, compared with $2.8 million, or $0.13 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $218.5 million, from $210.3 million last year.

Same-store sales rose 2.4 percent for the period.

Big 5 also forecast earnings for the second quarter in a range of $0.24 to $0.30 per share. It expects comparable sales to rise again in the current quarter.

Also, the company’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share, which will be paid on June 15 to stockholders of record as of June 1.

Johnson Health Tech posts Q1 sales growth

Johnson Health Tech said its first-quarter sales were up 28 percent worldwide and 32 percent in North America. The company said it experienced positive growth within its sporting goods and mass-market division, as well as its specialty and commercial divisions.

Johnson is the parent of Matrix Fitness, Vision Fitness, Horizon Fitness and Livestrong Fitness equipment.

In the sporting goods and mass channel, the company reported a 58 percent increase in sales over the prior year. In the commercial channel, sales were up 36 percent over the corresponding 2009 time period.

“Our international subsidiaries experienced outstanding sales growth in both retail and commercial segments,” said Mark Zabel, vice president of global marketing for Johnson, in a statement.

April sales rise for Costco

Costco Wholesale (Nasdaq: COST) said its April revenue at stores open at least a year rose 11 percent partly on an earlier Easter.

There was one extra day in the month, with an earlier Easter lifting results by about 2 percent to 3 percent. Removing higher gasoline prices and the weaker dollar, same-store revenue rose 4 percent in April.

Revenue for the period ended May 2 climbed 13 percent to $5.83 billion.

–Compiled by Wendy Geister

For more information about any public company on this page or its financial reports, as well as to view stock prices updated every 15 minutes, visit the SNEWS® Stock Market Updates. Click on: www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/cgi-bin/snews/stock_report.html.