After revising its guidance downward earlier in the quarter, West Marine reported that sales increased 8.6% to $253 million in the second quarter of 2004, compared to $233 million last year. Comparable store net sales for the second quarter increased 4.6% compared to the same period a year ago. Net income was $25.2 million in the second quarter, or $1.17 per diluted share, a 27.3% increase compared to net income of $19.8 million, or 98 cents per diluted share, in Q2 last year.
Comparable store net sales for first half increased 6.2% compared to the same period a year ago. Comparable store sales by region for the first six months of 2004 were broken out with the Northeast up 7.9%, Southeast up 3.5%, and West Coast increasing 7.3%.
John Edmondson, West Marine's chief executive officer said that late deliveries from some vendors and cooler weather worked against higher sales and earnings increases. “As many other retailers are experiencing, our customers appear to have tightened their wallets recently,” he said. “As a result, we anticipate that July sales will fall short of plan.”
WMAR now expects Q3 sales ranging from $195 million to $197 million and EPS ranging from 43 cents to 44 cents. For the full year 2004, the company expects to report sales ranging from $702 million to $706 million and earnings per share ranging from $1.36 to $1.40.
