West Marine reported record earnings of $1.17 per share for the second quarter ended July 3, 2004, marking the first time since going public in 1993 that the Company has achieved quarterly earnings exceeding $1.00 per share. Net income was $25.2 million in the second quarter, compared to net income of $19.8 million, or $0.98 per share, a year ago, marking the first time the Company has achieved quarterly net income as a percent of sales in the double digits. Comparable store net sales for the second quarter increased 4.6% compared to the same period a year ago.
Net income for the twenty-six weeks ended July 3, 2004 was $22.1 million, or $1.04 per share, compared to net income of $13.7 million, or $0.68 per share, for the same period a year ago. Net sales for the first six months of 2004 were $381.8 million, an increase of 11.0% over sales of $344.1 million last year. Comparable store net sales for the twenty-six weeks ended July 3, 2004 increased 6.2% compared to the same period a year ago.
Comparable store sales by region for the first six months of 2004 were: Northeast 7.9%, Southeast 3.5% and West Coast 7.3%. Comparable store sales are defined as sales from stores that have been open at least thirteen months and where selling square footage did not change by more than 40% in the previous thirteen months.
John Edmondson, West Marine's chief executive officer, stated, “We are pleased to report record second quarter earnings. Despite wet, cool weather and delayed shipments from some vendors in June, we were still able to achieve earnings per share nearly 20% higher than last year.
“As many other retailers are experiencing, our customers appear to have tightened their wallets recently. As a result, we anticipate that July sales will fall short of plan. For the third quarter, we now expect sales ranging from $195 million to $197 million and earnings per share ranging from $0.43 to $0.44. For the full year 2004, we currently expect to report sales ranging from $702 million to $706 million and earnings per share ranging from $1.36 to $1.40.”
---------------------------- ---------------
2004
(Actual and projected) 2003 (Actual)
---------------------------- ---------------
1st Qtr. Net sales $129 M $111 M
--------- ---------------
EPS ($0.15) ($0.32)
--------- ---------------
Comp sales 10.2% -10.2%
--------- ---------------
2nd Qtr. Net sales $253 M $233 M
--------- ---------------
EPS $1.17 $0.98
--------- ---------------
Comp sales 4.6% -4.4%
--------- ---------------
3rd Qtr. Net sales $195 M to $197 M $192 M
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
Projected EPS $0.43 to $0.44 $0.39
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
Comp sales -2.0% to -1.0% 1.2%
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
4th Qtr. Net sales $125 M to $127 M $125 M
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
Projected EPS ($0.09) to ($0.06) ($0.08)
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
Comp sales 0.0% to 2.0% 2.9%
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
Full Year Net sales $702 M to $706 M $661 M
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
Projected EPS $1.36 to $1.40 $0.99
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
EPS increase
vs. prior
year 37.4% to 41.4%
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
Comp sales 2.0% to 3.0% -2.5%
--------- -------- --------- ---------------
