Dick's Beats, Guides in Line

Earnings surged 53% from last year
By Nat Worden ,

Dick's Sporting Goods

(DKS) - Get Report

reported a 53% jump in fourth-quarter earnings after Monday's closing bell, beating Wall Street's expectations.

The sporting goods chain said its earned $39.9 million, or 75 cents a share, up from $26 million, or 50 cents per share, logged in the same quarter one year ago.

Excluding merger and store closing costs and other items, the company said it earned 81 cents a share for the quarter, exceeding the forecast from analysts of 77 cents a share, according to consensus estimates reported by Thomson First Call.

The company is still dealing with merging with Gaylan's Stores.

"We are reporting another strong quarter of operating results and effective management of our inventory while making considerable progress in the conversion of the Galyan's stores," said Dick's chairman and chief executive, Edward W. Stack, in a statement. "Regarding the Galyan's conversion, we have converted the point-of-sale systems in the stores, re-signed the stores, converted the warehouse management system in the former Galyan's distribution center, closed the corporate office and converted all activity onto Dick's systems. We have also made progress on re-merchandising stores to place more of an emphasis on sporting goods."

For the full year, the company expects 2005 earnings in a range from $1.36 a share to $1.41 a share, including costs related to mergers and store closings. It earned $1.42 a share in 2004. Barring costs, however, it expects to earn between $1.79 and $1.84 a share, in line with Wall Street's estimates.

Despite the news, shares of Dick's Sporting Goods were recently down $1.38, or 3.9%, to $33.62 in after-hours trading, after the stock lost 1.5% during regular trading hours.

Net sales in the fourth quarter rose to $788 million from $474.4 million. Its same-store sales, or sales from stores open at least a year, rose 2.6%. The company expects same-store sales to rise between 1% and 2% in 2005, not including results at Gaylan's stores.

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