No home run for Hibbett Sports in Q2

Hibbett Sports Inc. says a shift in back-to-school tax-free weekends was to blame for softness in same store sales in the second quarter.

The sporting goods retailer says net sales for the 13-week period ended Aug. 1 increased 2.8% to $199.3 million compared with $193.9 million for the 13-week period ended Aug. 2, 2014. Same store sales decreased 1.1%.Net income was $7 million compared with $8.4 million for the 13-week period ended Aug. 2, 2014. Earnings per diluted share totaled 28 cents, compared with 32 cents for the 13-week period ended Aug. 2, 2014.

Jeff Rosenthal, president and CEO, said: “Comparable store sales were under expectations for the quarter, and we experienced especially slow sales in the last two weeks of July. 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.”

For the quarter, Hibbett opened 16 new stores, expanded four high-performing stores and closed three underperforming stores, bringing the store base to 1,014 in 32 states as of Aug. 1.

The company is revising its guidance for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 30, 2016, to earnings per diluted share in the range of $2.80 to $2.90, which compares to previous guidance of earnings per diluted share in the range of $2.95 to $3.04. Comparable store sales are expected to be flat.