Best Buy sees increase in 4Q revenue

MINNEAPOLIS Best Buy reported net earnings of $570 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, for its fiscal fourth quarter ended on Feb. 28. The company's net earnings declined by 23% compared with $737 million, or $1.71 per diluted share, for the prior-year period.

Diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year totaled $2.39, compared with $3.12 in fiscal 2008. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year totaled $2.88.

“We prepared for reduced consumer spending, and we were pleased when the quarter finished stronger than it began,” said Brad Anderson, CEO and vice chairman of Best Buy. “This company continues to innovate and take market share because of our culture, our talented employees and our commitment to serving customers.”

For the fiscal 2009 fourth quarter, Best Buy’s revenue increased 10% to $14.7 billion, compared with revenue of $13.4 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.

Jim Muehlbauer, Best Buy’s EVP finance and CFO, said, “Fourth-quarter revenue exceeded our expectations on stronger-than-anticipated consumer demand. We continued to gain market share in most of our key categories. While facing liquidation sales of a large competitor, we continued to improve the gross profit rate in our domestic segment. We also responded quickly to the changes in the environment and made significant adjustments to our cost structure and inventory levels. Looking to fiscal 2010, we expect to continue making improvements to our capabilities and cost structure as we prepare for a wide variety of scenarios in consumer demand.”