Dick’s beats Street with sliding Q3 profits

Pittsburgh, P.A. – Although weakening golf and hunting sales contributed to a small decline in net income at Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, the retailer still beat Wall Street profit expectations. Dick’s reported net income of $49.2 million, about a 2% drop from $50 million the same quarter a year earlier.

Net sales rose 9% to $1.53 billion from $1.4 billion, and same-store sales increased 1.1%. E-commerce penetration was 7.3% of total sales, compared to 6.5% in the third quarter of the previous year.

Looking ahead, Dick’s expects earnings per share and same-store sales to increase in the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2014.

"Our third quarter earnings were at the higher end of our guidance, but continued pressures in golf and hunting kept our same-store sales at the lower end of our expectations," said Edward W. Stack, chairman and CEO. "The balance of our business, excluding golf and hunting, continued to deliver strong results.”