The Sports Authority, Inc. reported early Monday morning that, “based on recent trends”, the newly merged entity expects to see total sales for the third quarter ending November 1, 2003 to be approximately $550 million, with a comparable store sales increase in the 1.0% to 2.0% range.
TSA now sees diluted EPS in the 13 cents to 15 cents range, up a dime from their previous guidance.
For fiscal year 2003, the company now expects full year earnings to be between $1.98 and $2.03 per fully diluted share. All earnings estimates are exclusive of one-time merger integration costs.
“Our strong results for the third quarter thus far have been driven by a consistent positive comparable store sales performance in both the former Gart Sports Company and Sports Authority stores”, said Doug Morton TSA vice chairman and CEO.
“This performance reflects how well the merger integration process has gone to date. We remain committed to further leveraging our leadership position in the marketplace and capitalizing on the many growth opportunities that still lie ahead”, he said.
All the major sporting goods stocks jumed on the news, with TSA, Dick's SG and Hibbett all hitting new 52-week highs on Monday. DKS led the pack with a 8.75% increase to close at $43.77, TSA gained 7.97% to close at $37.79 for the day, and HIBB increased 3.69% to close at $29.96 on Monday. Foot Locker and Footstar also got nice bumps off the news.
