Foot Locker’s Q1 Earnings Vault 74%

Excluding the effect of foreign currency fluctuations, total sales for the first quarter increased 3.0 percent.  

“The strategic steps that we have taken over the past several months contributed to our improving sales trend and 70 percent earnings per share increase for the first quarter,” stated Ken C. Hicks, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Foot Locker, Inc.  “These strong results reflect the hard work of our associates worldwide who drove sales gains by providing diligent customer service at the store level, while managing our inventories and operating expenses effectively.  As a result of their efforts, our financial results reflect a 54 percent “flow-through” of incremental sales to increased pre-tax profit versus the first quarter of last year.”

Financial Position

At the end of the first quarter, the company's cash and short-term investments totaled $616 million. The company's total cash position, net of debt, was $479 million, a $190 million improvement from the same time last year.  During the first quarter of 2010, the company repurchased 500,000 shares of its common stock for $7.7 million under the company's $250 million share repurchase program, which was approved by the company's Board of Directors in February of this year.

Merchandise inventory at the end of the first quarter was $1,146 million, which was $91 million, or 7.4 percent, less than at the end of the same period last year.

Store Base Update

During the first quarter, the company opened 14 new stores, remodeled or relocated 42 stores and closed 29 stores.  At May 1, 2010, the company operated 3,485 stores in 21 countries in North America, Europe and Australia.  In addition, 22 Foot Locker franchised stores were operating in the Middle East and South Korea.