Sport Supply Group is starting to see some results in its turnaround efforts after divesting itself of its team dealer operations a year ago and selling the ATEC business to Wilson Team Sports in February of this year. The move to become more of a service platform ala GSIC is apparently working as a decline in operating expenses coupled with an improvement in gross margins resulted in net income of approximately $1.0 million, or 11 cents per share, in the fiscal second quarter ended September 30, versus a loss of roughly $290,000, or a loss of three cents a share, in fiscal second quarter last year. The company’s former Spaulding Athletic business, which was sold off in Q2 last year, accounted for about $254,000 of the loss in Q2 last LY.

Net sales increased 3.6% in the second quarter to $23.3 million from $22.5 million in Q2 last year. Gross margin rose 200 basis points to 29.0% of sales in Q2.

Geoffrey Jurick, chairman and CEO, said that the company posted 7.5% organic sales growth in the first half of the fiscal year. Gross margins in H1 improved 220 basis points to 29.4% of sales from 27.2% of sales last year. Operating expenses, as a percent of sales, declined 230 basis points to 24.4% from 26.7% in the year-ago period. Jurick said they had received over 34,000 orders and 19,000 customer inquiries through the Internet in the first half of the year.

SSG’s new strategy is based on providing e-commerce “storefronts” to strategically located sporting goods stores that promote increasing sales of SSG products.