Finish Line Sees Sales Picking Up -- WSJ
June 25 2016 - 3:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Lisa Beilfuss
Finish Line Inc. on Friday became the latest retailer to cite a
challenging retail landscape for sharply lower quarterly
earnings.
Still, shares of Finish Line jumped 3% to $17.30 in premarket
trading, despite the broader market selloff, as the athletic-shoe
retailer's results surpassed analyst expectations.
Like retailers across the spectrum, from department stores to
specialty shops, Finish Line has been grappling with dwindling
store traffic, the rise of Amazon.com and shoppers' shift towards
discount chains such as T.J. Maxx and fast-fashion retailers like
H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB.
Indianapolis-based Finish Line, which has stores inside
struggling Macy's Inc. stores, has moved to shut locations while
ramping up its ecommerce capabilities. On Friday, Chief Executive
Sam Sato said amid "the challenging retail environment," the
company made progress during the quarter to improve the
business.
In March, Finish Line offered a forecast for the year that fell
short of investors' expectations. Mr. Sato affirmed that outlook
Friday, still projecting adjusted per-share profit of $1.50 to
$1.56.
The company signaled that it expects sales to pick up a bit as
the year progresses. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 1.5%
in the first quarter, down sharply from the 4.6% clip a quarter
earlier, but Finish Line said the metric would rise to 3% to 5% for
the full year.
Overall for the three months ended May 28, the company reported
a profit of $9.6 million, or 23 cents a share, down from $13.7
million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest quarter's
result included $35 million in expenses connected to store
closings, down from a $168 million hit a year earlier.
A lower share count -- Finish Line repurchased 1 million shares
during the quarter -- boosted the per-share earnings figure.
Revenue edged 2.3% higher to $453.5 million.
Analysts projected 22 cents in adjusted earnings per share on
$449.6 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 25, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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