Hibbett Sports misses Street in Q2

Birmingham, Ala. – Hibbett Sports Inc. missed Wall Street expectations for profit and sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income fell 20% to $8.4 million from $7 million the same quarter the prior fiscal year.



An increase in store operating, selling and administrative expenses helped cut profit. Net sales rose 3% to $199.26 million from $193.92 million. Same-store sales dropped 1.1%.



“Same-store sales were under expectations for the quarter, and we experienced especially slow sales in the last two weeks of July,” said Jeff Rosenthal, president and CEO. “As stated in the recent business update, we anticipated the impact from the shift in tax-free weekends for 10 states during this period, but we experienced softness in other states as well. Sales trends in early August have improved, and we feel confident that we have plans in place to continue this improvement going forward.”



During fiscal 2016, same-store sales are expected to be flat or increase in the low single-digit range for the year, which compares to previous guidance of comparable store sales increasing in the low single-digit range for the year.