FGL Sports, which is Canada’s largest sporting goods retailer, had retail sales of C$444.2 million ($447mm) in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 29, 2012, up 4.5 percent compared with the same period in 2011, according to financial results reported by its parent company Canadian Tire Corp. (CTC). Same-store sales grew 2.9 percent, but were up 3.8 percent at the Sport Chek banner over the same period contributing to its 6.8 percent growth for the full year.
“The acquisition of FGL Sports has been a remarkable success, said Stephen Wetmore, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Tire Corp. Our Sport Chek and Sports Experts “super brands” achieved strong sales growth and we started to implement ambitious growth plans in 2012 that will fuel future growth.”
FGL Sports also operates more than 30 doors under its Atmosphere banner, which caters to outdoor enthusiasts.
Strong performance in hard goods, apparel and footwear was offset by the impact of the NHL lockout and the late arrival of winter weather, particularly in Ontario and Quebec. FGL ended the quarter with 495 stores, down 39 from a year earlier.
In 2013, FGL Sports will expand its number of Sport Chek stores, rollout “retail lab” locations and add hundreds of thousands more square feet of new retail space. It also expects to close on its acquisition of Pro Hockey Life, which would strengthen CTC’s leadership position in sports and broaden its offering in hockey.
CTC, which also operates the much larger Canadian Tire stores and the apparel and footwear chain Marksreported consolidated retail sales in the fourth quarter increased 1.4 percent and consolidated revenue increased 1.0 percent to $3.2 billion for the period. Diluted earnings per share declined 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year. Included in net income were costs related to corporate restructuring and tax adjustments that occurred during the fourth quarter of 2012, amounts related to the purchase of FGL Sports and income received from the resolution of tax matters in 2011. Excluding these items, diluted earnings per share increased 2.8 percent in Q4 2012.
For the full year, CTC reported consolidated retail sales increased 10.1 percent to $12.9 billion reflecting the full year impact of FGL Sports retail sales compared to 19 weeks in 2011 and consolidated revenue increased 10.0 percent to $11.4 billion. Diluted earnings per share for the year increased 6.9 percent to $6.10. Normalizing for the restructuring charges and FGL Sports banner rationalization costs in 2012 and amounts related to the purchase of FGL Sports and income received from the resolution of tax matters in 2011, diluted earnings per share were up 12.9 percent.
“Canadian Tire Retail also had a solid year,” said Wetmore. “In 2012, we focused on improving our margins, introduced new products, executed successfully in key heritage categories, retrofitted over 70 more Smart store formats and have strengthened our position as Canada’s Store.”
In 2013, CTC will expand its roll out of new Living and outdoor and sports pro shops in Canadian Tire stores featuring expanded assortments, stunning in-store displays and an exciting customer experience.
“Mark’s continues to be one of Canada’s market leaders in apparel and footwear as we converted dozens more stores to our new store format in 2012,” Wetmore continued. “Financial Services once again performed well through the strong management of its credit card portfolio as well as new initiatives such as the Canadian Tire Driver’s Academy and a new Sport Chek MasterCard.”
| Consolidated financial results | |||||||||||||||||||
| (C$ in millions except per share amounts) | Q4 2012 | Q4 2011 | Change | YTD Q4 2012 | YTD Q4 2011 | Change | |||||||||||||
| Retail sales | $ | 3,780.5 | $ | 3,727.2 | 1.4% | $ | 12,852.5 | $ | 11,668.3 | 10.1% | |||||||||
| Revenue | 3,166.7 | 3,135.1 | 1.0% | 11,427.2 | 10,387.1 | 10.0% | |||||||||||||
| Gross margin | 994.4 | 938.8 | 5.9% | 3,497.9 | 3,060.7 | 14.3% | |||||||||||||
| Other (expense) income | 5.2 | 5.8 | (10.3)% | 5.7 | 18.4 | (69.1)% | |||||||||||||
| Operating expenses | 749.6 | 680.8 | 10.1% | 2,700.2 | 2,317.0 | 16.5% | |||||||||||||
| EBITDA | 337.8 | 350.4 | (3.6)% | 1,138.5 | 1,058.2 | 7.6% | |||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 87.8 | 86.6 | 1.4% | 335.1 | 296.1 | 13.2% | |||||||||||||
| Net finance costs | 33.4 | 32.9 | 1.2% | 126.2 | 132.2 | (4.6)% | |||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 216.6 | 230.9 | (6.2)% | 677.2 | 629.9 | 7.5% | |||||||||||||
| Effective tax rate | 24.7% | 28.0% | 26.3% | 25.9% | |||||||||||||||
| Net income | 163.1 | 166.3 | (1.9)% | 499.2 | 467.0 | 6.9% | |||||||||||||
| Basic earnings per share | 2.00 | 2.04 | (1.9)% | 6.13 | 5.73 | 6.9% | |||||||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | 2.00 | 2.03 | (1.8)% | 6.10 | 5.71 | 6.9% | |||||||||||||
| Retail segment financial results | |||||||||||||||||||
| (C$ in millions) | Q4 2012 | Q4 2011 | Change | YTD Q4 2012 | YTD Q4 2011 | Change | |||||||||||||
| Retail sales | $ | 3,780.5 | $ | 3,727.2 | 1.4% | $ | 12,852.5 | $ | 11,668.3 | 10.1% | |||||||||
| Revenue | 2,901.1 | 2,874.9 | 0.9% | 10,381.2 | 9,363.5 | 10.9% | |||||||||||||
| Gross margin | 826.9 | 783.9 | 5.5% | 2,835.3 | 2,446.7 | 15.9% | |||||||||||||
| Other income (expense) | 5.0 | 5.9 | (14.9)% | 3.0 | 18.8 | (84.3)% | |||||||||||||
| Operating expenses | 658.2 | 595.1 | 10.6% | 2,364.8 | 1,982.0 | 19.3% | |||||||||||||
| EBITDA | 258.9 | 278.6 | (7.1)% | 798.7 | 768.9 | 3.9% | |||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 85.2 | 83.9 | 1.5% | 325.2 | 285.4 | 13.9% | |||||||||||||
