Hibbett Sports Inc. (HIBB) announced better-than-expected earnings and sales for the third quarter with an upbeat financial outlook for the current quarter, sending its shares up more than 6 percent this morning.
The Birmingham, Alabama-based sporting goods retailer reported a profit of $25.3 million, or $1.47 per share for the three-month period ended October 31, significantly higher than 13 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, earnings rose to $1.45 per share, crushing analysts’ average estimate of 45 cents.
Revenue came in at $331.4 million, up 20 percent from $275.5 million in the comparable period last year. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for revenue of $286 million.
Speaking on the results, Chief Executive Officer Mike Longo said in a statement “our business continues to operate from a position of strength despite ongoing challenges in the current business environment. Superior customer service delivered by our dedicated team members and a best-in-class omni-channel platform contributed to significant revenue and earnings growth in the quarter.”
Same-store sales jumped 13.2 percent in the quarter, beating the 10 percent surge forecasted by analysts. E-commerce revenue accounted for 13.2 percent of the total revenue in the third quarter, as compared to 10.5 percent in the year-ago quarter.
Looking forward, Hibbett Sports expects earnings in the range of $1.00 per share to $1.10 per share for the fourth quarter, as compared to the consensus forecast of 60 cents. Comparable sales are expected to grow between high-single digits to low-double digits in the current quarter.
Hibbett Sports Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) is currently trading on heavy volume of 2 million shares, as compared to daily average volume of nearly 0.63 million shares. The stock did well this year by rising more than 71 percent on a year-to-date basis.
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