West Marine net sales for the five weeks ended January 1, 2005 were $45.7 million, a 14.0% decrease compared to net sales of $53.1 million for the six-week period a year ago. Comparable store net sales for the five weeks ended January 1, 2005 decreased 5.3% compared to the similar five-week period a year ago.
Net sales for the thirteen weeks ended January 1, 2005 were $117.5 million, a decrease of 5.5% from net sales of $124.3 million for the fourteen-week period a year ago. Comparable store net sales for the latest quarter decreased 3.3% compared to the similar thirteen-week period a year ago.
Net sales for the fifty-two weeks ended January 1, 2005 were $682.4 million, an increase of 3.3% from net sales of $660.3 million for the fifty-three week period ended January 3, 2004. Comparable store net sales for the year increased 0.3% compared to the similar fifty-two week period for the prior year.
Eric Nelson, CFO of West Marine, said, “Sales for December were softer than we anticipated, especially in our Northeast region. However, because December gross margins were better than expected, we are on target to reach the low to midpoint of our 2004 earnings guidance of $1.25 to $1.28 per share, which represents a significant increase over earnings of $0.99 per share last year. We also remain comfortable with our previous earnings guidance for 2005, ranging from $1.49 to $1.53 per share.”
