Big 5 earnings climb 25% as sales rise and costs fall
From the Associated Press
Retailer Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. said fourth-quarter earnings rose 25% as costs fell and sales rose on demand for sporting apparel.
Net income rose to $9.6 million, or 42 cents a share, from $7.7 million, or 34 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 7% to $234.5 million. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, added 4.2%. That metric is considered a key indicator of retail strength.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for profit of 39 cents a share on revenue of $235.2 million.
Shares of the El Segundo company closed up 22 cents at $24.70.
