Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation pre-announced fourth-quarter results for the period ended January 2 that showed earnings came in above company guidance due to margins coming in significantly ahead of plan.
For the 13-week fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, net sales were $273.4 million compared to net sales of $290.6 million for the 14-week fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.
Same-store sales increased 0.2 percent for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and increased 10.6 percent compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. The results were in line with retailer’s guidance calling for same-store sales to be in the range of negative low-single-digits to positive low-single-digits
The company’s merchandise margins increased by approximately 194 basis points for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and increased by approximately 437 basis points versus the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
For the 52-week fiscal 2021 full year, net sales increased to $1.16 billion compared to net sales of $1.04 billion for the 53-week fiscal 2020. Same-store sales increased 13.9 percent for the fiscal 2021 full year compared to fiscal 2020 and increased 17.5 percent compared to fiscal 2019. The company’s merchandise margins increased by approximately 250 basis points for the fiscal 2021 full year compared to fiscal 2020 and increased by approximately 440 basis points compared to fiscal 2019.
As a result of the company’s fiscal calendar, the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 included 13 weeks, the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 included 14 weeks, the fiscal 2021 full year included 52 weeks and the fiscal 2020 full year included 53 weeks. The company’s same-store sales results for the fourth quarter reflect comparable 13-week periods, and for the full year reflect comparable 52-week periods.
For the fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, the company now expects to generate earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.84 to $0.86, which compares to the company’s previous guidance for the fourth quarter of earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.55 to $0.70.
For the fiscal 2021 full year, the company now expects to generate earnings per diluted share in the range of $4.50 to $4.52, including a previously reported net benefit of $0.06 per diluted share. For purposes of comparison to the prior year, for the fiscal 2020 fourth quarter, the company realized earnings per diluted share of $0.95, which included a previously reported benefit of $0.12 per diluted share, and for the fiscal 2020 full year, the company realized earnings per diluted share of $2.58, which included a previously reported net benefit of $0.25 per diluted share. Financial results for the fiscal 2021 fourth quarter and full-year are unaudited, preliminary and subject to final year-end accounting entries. During fiscal 2021, the company returned to shareholders over $69 million in value through a combination of regular and special cash dividends and open-market stock repurchases. In the fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, the company repurchased 260,825 shares of its common stock.
The company ended the 2021 fiscal year with no borrowings under its credit facility and with cash and cash equivalents of approximately $97.4 million. The year-end cash balance for fiscal 2021 compares to no borrowings under the company’s credit facility and $64.7 million of cash and cash equivalents as of the end of the 2020 fiscal year. Total merchandise inventories increased by approximately 7.1 percent as of the end of fiscal 2021 versus the end of the prior fiscal year.
“We expect to deliver fourth-quarter results solidly above the high end of our earnings guidance, driven in part by a strong margin performance that was considerably ahead of our plan. Our fourth-quarter performance highlighted another record year of sales and earnings for Big 5, with 2021 earnings per share expected to surpass last year’s then-record results by approximately 75 percent,” said Steven G. Miller, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Throughout the year, our team did a tremendous job of navigating through the supply chain and staffing challenges associated with the pandemic. While issues surrounding the pandemic are ongoing, we believe the business is in a great position heading into 2022 and are confident that our merchandise offering and convenient store experience will continue to resonate with our customers.”
The company expects to issue earnings results for the fiscal 2021 fourth quarter and full-year in early March 2022.
Photo courtesy Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp.
