Hhgregg’s sales down in fourth quarter

Hhgregg president and CEO Dennis May said severe weather was one of the main factors that hampered the company’s results in the fourth quarter.



The company, which pre-released its fourth-quarter results a little more than a month ago, reported a net loss of $7.2 billion in the quarter, compared to net income of $9.9 million in the same period the prior fiscal year. Net sales dropped 10% to $538.3 million, from $597.6 million.



A same-store sales decline of 10% affected both net income and sales, and charges related to Hhgregg’s planned exit from the mobile phone business also helped drive its net loss.



“In addition to continued volatility in the consumer electronics business, extreme weather in January, February and the beginning of March negatively impacted traffic and operating performance in the majority of our stores, particularly those located in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, where the weather was the most severe,” said May. “Despite these challenges, the company was able to report a comparable sales increase in its appliance category, which marked its 11th consecutive quarter of comparable store sales increases in the appliance category.”



For the full fiscal year, net income dropped 91% to $228,000 from $25.37 million. Net sales decreased 5% to $2.34 million, from $2.47 million.