Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. reported preliminary results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 ended December 24, 2022, showing results arriving at the upper end of guidance.

For the third quarter ended December 24, 2022, the company expects to report:

  • Net sales increased 5.9 percent to approximately $514.6 million.
  • Same store sales declined approximately 3.6 percent, cycling 54.2 percent same-store sales growth in the prior-year period. Retail store same-store sales declined approximately 0.8 percent and e-commerce same-store sales declined approximately 15.2 percent.
  • Merchandise margin declined 190 basis points compared to the prior-year period, driven primarily by a 180 basis-point headwind from higher freight expense.
  • Net income per diluted share of approximately $1.74 compared to net income per diluted share of $2.27 in the prior-year comparable period. Net income per diluted share in the prior-year period includes an approximately 4 cents per share benefit primarily due to income tax accounting for share-based compensation.
  • The company opened 12 new stores in the third quarter, or 33 stores year-to-date, bringing its total store count to 333.

The retailer had expected sales of $502 million to $514 million, representing growth of 3.3 percent to 5.8 percent over the prior year. Same-store sales were expected in range of approximately 5.0 percent to 3.0 percent, with retail store same-store sales decline of 2.0 percent to flat and e-commerce same-store sales of a 21.0 percent to 17.0 percent decline. Gross profit was expected between $184 million and $189 million, or approximately 36.8 percent of sales. Income from operations was expected between $71 million and $76 million. This represents approximately 14.1 percent to 14.8 percent of sales. Net income per diluted share was expected in the range of $1.71 to $1.83 based on 30.3 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding.

Jim Conroy, president and CEO, commented “I am extremely proud of the entire Boot Barn team for their tremendous execution as we delivered total sales at the high end of our guidance, despite late December storms that negatively impacted sales during the highest volume days of the quarter. New store sales continued to over-perform our expectations and we were able to deliver retail store same store sales that were roughly flat as we cycled an incredible 55.7 percent retail comp growth in the same period last year. Once again, we were able to maintain our predominantly full-price selling environment in what seemed to be a highly promotional holiday period across retail. Normalizing for expected freight headwinds, we were able to achieve a merchandise margin rate nearly in line with last year’s record-setting performance.

As we enter 2023, we feel great about the new store pipeline, our current inventory levels, and the overall tone of the business. With store productivity levels continuing to far exceed pre-pandemic levels, combined with the significant opportunity to increase our current store footprint, we believe the future growth prospects for Boot Barn are extremely bright.”