Finish Line swings to profit ahead of merger but key sales metric falls
The Finish Line returned to profitability in its fourth quarter amid inventory and expense management, but same-store sales at its freestanding locations took a beating.
For the quarter ended March 3, the athletic footwear retailer reported a net income of $16.3 million, compared to a net loss of $9.5 million during the same period in 2017. Adjusted earnings were 59 cents a share, more than analysts had expected, up from 50 cents a share a year ago.
Consolidated net sales edged up 0.7% to $561.3 million, short of analysts’ predictions. By division, same-store sales fell 7.9% at Finish Line. Sales rose 8.5% at Macy’s.
Finish Line released its results days after the company agreed to be acquired by British sporting goods giant JD Sports Fashion PLC in a deal valued at $558 million.
“While we anticipated that our business would be under pressure during the fourth quarter due to a difficult selling environment for athletic footwear, sales ended up being down more than we forecasted,” said Sam Sato, CEO of Finish Line. “Despite the topline headwinds, we worked hard on tightly controlling costs and managing inventories to deliver adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter at the high-end of our most recent guidance range of $0.58 to $0.59.”
The company said it ended the year with no interest-bearing debt, and an acquisition agreement with British sporting goods giant JD Sports Fashion PLC. On March 26, JD Sports announced it will acquire Finish Line in a deal valued at $558 million. The deal is expected to close in June.
For the year, Finish Line earned $14.4 million, compared to a net loss of $18.2 million for the year prior. Consolidated net sales were $1.84 billion, a decrease of 0.3% from the prior year.
Finish Line has approximately 556 stores, mostly in malls, and 375 in-store shops inside Macy’s department stores.
For the quarter ended March 3, the athletic footwear retailer reported a net income of $16.3 million, compared to a net loss of $9.5 million during the same period in 2017. Adjusted earnings were 59 cents a share, more than analysts had expected, up from 50 cents a share a year ago.
Consolidated net sales edged up 0.7% to $561.3 million, short of analysts’ predictions. By division, same-store sales fell 7.9% at Finish Line. Sales rose 8.5% at Macy’s.
Finish Line released its results days after the company agreed to be acquired by British sporting goods giant JD Sports Fashion PLC in a deal valued at $558 million.
“While we anticipated that our business would be under pressure during the fourth quarter due to a difficult selling environment for athletic footwear, sales ended up being down more than we forecasted,” said Sam Sato, CEO of Finish Line. “Despite the topline headwinds, we worked hard on tightly controlling costs and managing inventories to deliver adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter at the high-end of our most recent guidance range of $0.58 to $0.59.”
The company said it ended the year with no interest-bearing debt, and an acquisition agreement with British sporting goods giant JD Sports Fashion PLC. On March 26, JD Sports announced it will acquire Finish Line in a deal valued at $558 million. The deal is expected to close in June.
For the year, Finish Line earned $14.4 million, compared to a net loss of $18.2 million for the year prior. Consolidated net sales were $1.84 billion, a decrease of 0.3% from the prior year.
Finish Line has approximately 556 stores, mostly in malls, and 375 in-store shops inside Macy’s department stores.