Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. said sales in the fourth quarter ended January 1 came in slightly lower than expectations and the retailer expects earnings for the period to come at or near the low end of its prior guidance range.
The retailer reported net sales were $238.3 million in the fiscal 2022 fourth quarter ended January 1, 2023, compared to net sales of $273.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. Same-store sales decreased 13.2 percent for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. The company’s merchandise margins decreased by 129 basis points for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 but increased by 308 basis points versus the pre-pandemic fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.
For the fiscal 2022 full year, net sales were $995.5 million compared to net sales of $1.16 billion for fiscal 2021. Same-store sales decreased 14.5 percent for the fiscal 2022 full year compared to fiscal 2021. The company’s merchandise margins decreased by 63 basis points for the fiscal 2022 full year compared to fiscal 2021 but increased by 377 basis points versus fiscal 2019.
For the fiscal 2022 fourth quarter, the company now expects to generate earnings per diluted share in the range of 7 cents to 8 cents per share, which compares to the company’s previous guidance for the fourth quarter earnings per diluted share in the range of 8 cents to 20 cents per share. For the fiscal 2022 full year, the company now expects to generate earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.17 to $1.18.
Company Chairman, President and CEO, Steven G. Miller, commented, “While our team continued to execute well in a challenging consumer and promotional environment, our fourth quarter sales were slightly softer than expected. We now expect to report fourth-quarter earnings at or near the low end of our prior guidance range. Sales generally tracked on target through Black Friday, but trends decelerated in December, as inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty appeared to impact holiday discretionary spending beyond our expectations. In the face of these headwinds, we maintained strong merchandise margins in line with plan. We feel good about our inventory position at year-end and finished the year with a solid cash position and no credit line borrowings, putting us in a healthy financial position as we begin 2023.”
The company ended the 2022 fiscal year with no borrowings under its credit facility and with cash and cash equivalents of $25.6 million. Total merchandise inventories increased by 9.6 percent as of the end of fiscal 2022 versus the end of the prior fiscal year but are down 5.1 percent compared to fiscal 2019.
