Specialty athletic retailer grows profit for seventh straight year

Foot Locker won its race in the fourth quarter.



For the fourth quarter ended January 28, 2017, the specialty athletic retailer’s profits hit $189 million, or $1.42 per share, compared with net income of $158 million, or $1.14 per share in the same period of 2015. This exceeded analyst estimates of $1.31 per share.



The company’s revenue hit $2.11 billion in the period, which met Street forecasts. This was a jump from approximately $2.01 billion for the same period last year.



Same-store sales increased 5%.



For the year, sales were $7.77 billion, an increase of 4.8% compared to sales of $7.41 billion in fiscal 2015. Full-year comparable store sales increased 4.3%.



The company’s profit in 2016 was $664 million, or $4.91 per share, compared to net income of $541 million, or $3.84 per share in 2015.



"Generating our seventh consecutive year of meaningful sales and profit growth is a strong testament to Foot Locker's solid position at the center of sneaker culture," said Richard Johnson, the company’s chairman of the board and CEO.