Data & Analytics

New York -- Hibbett Sports is on track to open at least 80 new stores in 2015 as strong holiday sales and early tax refunds gave the retailer a boost in the January quarter.

The company posted quarterly earnings of $19.9 million, compared to $16.9 million, in the year-ago period. EPS surged to $0.79 from $0.64. Its sales gained 9.9% to $239.3 million. Same store sales rose 5.4% in the quarter.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Increased selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses helped swing Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores Inc. to a net loss in a generally tough fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. Sears Hometown & Outlet reported an preliminary, unaudited net loss of $4.63 million, compared to net income of $3.72 million in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Net sales dropped 7% to $562.34 million from $602.48 million, partially driven by a 7.7% decline in same-store sales.

Washington, D.C. – The long winter chill put a damper on consumer spending and retail sales in February. According to data from the National Retail Federation (NRF), excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, retail sales declined 0.2% seasonally-adjusted month-to-month, yet were up 3% on an unadjusted year-over-year basis.

Additional findings from NRF’s monthly retail sales analysis found that:

Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers:
• -2.3% month-to-month

Hibbett Sports is on track to open at least 80 new stores in 2015 as strong holiday sales and early tax refunds gave the retailer a boost in the January quarter.

The company posted quarterly earnings of $19.9 million, compared to $16.9 million, in the year-ago period. EPS surged to $0.79 from $0.64. Its sales gained 9.9% to $239.3 million. Same store sales rose 5.4% in the quarter.

Aeropostale Inc. says it is considering closing as many as 75 additional stores despite reporting a smaller profit loss in the fourth quarter.

The company’s net loss narrowed to $13.5 million in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, down from $70.3 million a year earlier. Net sales fell 11.3% to $593.8 million. Comparable sales declined 9%. Aeropostale closed more than 180 stores over the three months that ended Jan. 31. It currently has about 850 stores in North America and another 239 licensed Aeropostale stores worldwide.

New York -- Ann Inc. on Friday posted a 94% drop in profit for the fourth quarter as incremental air freight costs in response to the West Coast ports dispute and lower margins resulting from increased promotional activity cut into sales. Its results, however, topped the Street forecasts. The company also announced efforts to deliver an additional $35 million in cost savings by 2016 through a new selling, general and administrative optimization program.
 

Westlake, Ohio – Rising fuel gross margins and a non-recurring litigation settlement helped Travel Centers of America Inc. (TA) roughly triple its net income to $34.34 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, from $11.97 million in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year. Revenues dipped 9% to $1.72 billion, from $1.9 billion.

Unusual trading activity in shares of RadioShack prompted the company to issue a public statement reminding speculators the company’s shares are soon likely to be worthless.

Bankrupt companies don’t normally issue such warnings, but the move was prompted by trading in the company’s shares on the OTC Pink exchange under the symbol RSHCQ after the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.