Foot Locker sales soar, but reports a loss for Q4
Despite hitting a milestone in revenue for the year, Foot Locker posted mixed results for the fourth quarter.
For the quarter ended Feb. 3, the athletic retailer reported a net loss of $49 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to net income of $189 million, or $1.42 per share in the same period of fiscal 2016.
An extra week in fiscal 2017 boosted company revenue by 4.6% to $2.21 billion in revenues and $1.26 in earnings per share (EPS), compared to sales of $2.11 million in the prior-year fourth quarter. This was in line with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $1.25 in EPS on revenue of $2.22 billion.
Fourth quarter comparable-store sales decreased 3.7%.
Revenue for the fiscal year of 2017 was $7.78 billion, an increase of 0.2% compared to sales of $7.76 billion in fiscal 2016. This also marks the highest sales volume in the company's history. Full-year comparable-store sales decreased 3.1%.
The company's net income decreased to $284 million in 2017, or $2.22 per share, compared to net income of $664 million, or $4.91 per share in 2016.
Looking ahead to 2018, Foot Locker expects a flat to up, but low single-digit comparable-store sales performance for fiscal 2018.
"The first quarter of 2018 will likely see the continuation of sales and margins in line with trends in the second half of 2017," said Lauren Peters, executive VP and CFO.
"However, we are confident that we will inflect back to positive comparable-store sales by the middle of 2018, with the pace of sales continuing to gradually strengthen in the second half of the year based on the improving depth and variety of premium products we see coming from our key vendors,” she said. “We also expect a double-digit percentage increase in annual earnings per share, with an effective tax rate in the 27% to 28% range, and a lower share count both contributing to this performance."
For the quarter ended Feb. 3, the athletic retailer reported a net loss of $49 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to net income of $189 million, or $1.42 per share in the same period of fiscal 2016.
An extra week in fiscal 2017 boosted company revenue by 4.6% to $2.21 billion in revenues and $1.26 in earnings per share (EPS), compared to sales of $2.11 million in the prior-year fourth quarter. This was in line with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $1.25 in EPS on revenue of $2.22 billion.
Fourth quarter comparable-store sales decreased 3.7%.
Revenue for the fiscal year of 2017 was $7.78 billion, an increase of 0.2% compared to sales of $7.76 billion in fiscal 2016. This also marks the highest sales volume in the company's history. Full-year comparable-store sales decreased 3.1%.
The company's net income decreased to $284 million in 2017, or $2.22 per share, compared to net income of $664 million, or $4.91 per share in 2016.
Looking ahead to 2018, Foot Locker expects a flat to up, but low single-digit comparable-store sales performance for fiscal 2018.
"The first quarter of 2018 will likely see the continuation of sales and margins in line with trends in the second half of 2017," said Lauren Peters, executive VP and CFO.
"However, we are confident that we will inflect back to positive comparable-store sales by the middle of 2018, with the pace of sales continuing to gradually strengthen in the second half of the year based on the improving depth and variety of premium products we see coming from our key vendors,” she said. “We also expect a double-digit percentage increase in annual earnings per share, with an effective tax rate in the 27% to 28% range, and a lower share count both contributing to this performance."