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Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation Announces Fiscal 2007 Second Quarter Results
- Second Quarter Diluted Earnings Per Share of $0.26 - Declares Regular Quarterly Cash Dividend
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Aug 01, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (Nasdaq: BGFV), a leading sporting goods retailer, today reported financial results for the fiscal 2007 second quarter ended July 1, 2007.

For the fiscal 2007 second quarter, net sales increased $6.0 million, or 2.9%, to $217.8 million from net sales of $211.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2006. Same store sales declined 0.2% for the second quarter, representing the Company's first quarterly decrease in same store sales in over eleven years.

Gross profit for the fiscal 2007 second quarter increased to $77.1 million from $76.7 million in the second quarter of the prior year. The Company's gross profit margin was 35.4% in the fiscal 2007 second quarter versus 36.2% in the second quarter of the prior year. The gross margin performance reflected product margins generally in-line with the prior year and a $0.4 million decrease in distribution center costs as a result of operational efficiencies realized in the Company's new distribution center, offset by a $0.9 million reduction in inventory cost capitalization from the second quarter of last year.

Selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales were 28.3% in the fiscal 2007 second quarter compared to 27.7% in the second quarter of last year, primarily reflecting softness in the Company's sales and an increase in administrative expenses to support the Company's overall growth and financial reporting initiatives.

Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was $5.9 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, versus net income of $7.4 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2006.

For the twenty-six week period ended July 1, 2007, net sales increased $15.9 million, or 3.8%, to $434.9 million from net sales of $419.0 million in the same period last year. Same store sales increased 0.3% in the first 26 weeks of fiscal 2007 versus the same period last year. Net income was $13.5 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, for the first 26 weeks of fiscal 2007, compared to net income of $13.4 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

"As we previously announced, a general softness in the macro-economic environment impacted our sales throughout the second quarter," said Steven G. Miller, the Company's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "While we increased our promotional activity slightly and generated positive same store sales in May and June, those increases were not enough to offset weakness earlier in the quarter. From a product standpoint, our hardgoods category comped slightly positive during the second quarter, our footwear category was slightly down and apparel was our softest category, comping down in the low single digits.

"The start of the third quarter continues to be affected by the challenging consumer environment as well as soft sales comparisons of product categories that perform best in warmer weather due largely to significantly cooler weather than last year in many of our west coast markets," continued Mr. Miller. "We are cautiously optimistic about our opportunities for the remainder of the quarter. We have a strong promotional plan and believe we are well-positioned from a product offering and inventory perspective, and we are encouraged by the strength we are seeing in a number of product categories not impacted by the cooler temperatures. We remain confident in the effectiveness of our overall business model and continue to look for ways to enhance our top and bottom line performance in the current environment."

Quarterly Cash Dividend

The Company's Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per share of outstanding common stock, which will be paid on September 14, 2007 to stockholders of record as of August 31, 2007.

Share Repurchases

During the 2007 second fiscal quarter and third fiscal quarter through July 31, 2007, the Company repurchased 215,100 shares of its common stock for a total expenditure of $5.0 million. Since the inception of the Company's share repurchase program, which had an initial authorization of $15.0 million, the Company has repurchased a total of 280,110 shares, for a total expenditure of $6.3 million.

Guidance

For the third quarter of fiscal 2007, the Company expects to realize same store sales growth in the low single-digit negative to low single-digit positive range and earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.27 to $0.35. Third quarter guidance assumes that sales will continue to be challenged by macro-economic issues affecting the consumer environment and, compared to the prior year, reflects higher administrative expenses to support the Company's overall growth and financial reporting initiatives. For the fiscal 2007 full year, the Company expects to realize same store sales growth in the low single-digit negative to low single-digit positive range and earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.22 to $1.42. Full year guidance assumes that sales will continue to be challenged by macro-economic issues affecting the consumer environment and, compared to the prior year, reflects lower distribution center expenses offset by a reduction in inventory cost capitalization and higher administrative expenses to support the Company's overall growth and financial reporting initiatives.

Store Openings

During the fiscal 2007 second quarter, the Company opened four new stores, including a relocation of a store that the Company had closed during the first quarter, bringing its total store count as of the end of the second quarter to 348 stores. The Company anticipates opening five new stores, including one relocation, during the fiscal 2007 third quarter. The Company anticipates opening approximately 20 new stores, net of relocations, during fiscal 2007.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific (5:00 p.m. EDT) to discuss financial results for the fiscal 2007 second quarter. The webcast will be available at http://www.big5sportinggoods.com and archived for 30 days. Visitors to the website should select the "Investor Relations" link to access the webcast.

About Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation

Big 5 is a leading sporting goods retailer in the United States, operating 348 stores in 10 states under the "Big 5 Sporting Goods" name. Big 5 provides a full-line product offering in a traditional sporting goods store format that averages 11,000 square feet. Big 5's product mix includes athletic shoes, apparel and accessories, as well as a broad selection of outdoor and athletic equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, snowboarding and in-line skating.

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Big 5's actual results in current or future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the competitive environment in the sporting goods industry in general and in Big 5's specific market areas, inflation, product availability and growth opportunities, seasonal fluctuations, weather conditions, changes in costs of goods, operating expense fluctuations, disruption in product flow or increased costs related to distribution center operations, changes in interest rates and economic conditions in general. Those and other risks are more fully described in Big 5's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 1, 2007. Big 5 conducts its business in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment. Accordingly, new risk factors may arise. It is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor to assess the impact of all such risk factors on Big 5's business or the extent to which any individual risk factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Big 5 disclaims any obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce results of revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events or developments.

                           FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW



                        BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION
                 UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                      (In thousands, except share amounts)

                                                   July 1,        December 31,
                                                    2007              2006

                                     ASSETS

    Current assets:
       Cash and cash equivalents                    $8,102            $5,145
       Trade and other receivables, net
        of allowances of $255 and $314,
        respectively                                12,862            13,146
       Merchandise inventories                     252,082           228,692
       Prepaid expenses                             11,225             9,857
       Deferred income taxes                         9,390             9,345
                        Total current assets       293,661           266,185

    Property and equipment, net of
     accumulated depreciation of $99,811
     and $92,236, respectively                      88,058            88,159
    Deferred income taxes                            8,868             7,795
    Other assets, net of accumulated
     amortization of $216 and $590,
     respectively                                    1,082             1,107
    Goodwill                                         4,433             4,433
                        Total assets              $396,102          $367,679



                      LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

    Current liabilities:
       Accounts payable                           $113,136           $96,128
       Accrued expenses                             55,479            66,513
       Current portion of capital lease
        obligations                                  1,916             1,995
                        Total current
                         liabilities               170,531           164,636

    Deferred rent, less current portion             19,939            19,735
    Capital lease obligations, less
     current portion                                 2,725             2,992
    Long-term debt                                  88,830            77,086
    Other long-term liabilities                      2,896             2,770
                         Total liabilities         284,921           267,219

    Commitments and contingencies

    Stockholders' equity:
       Common stock, $0.01 par value,
        authorized 50,000,000 shares;
        issued 22,887,887 and 22,848,887
        shares, respectively;
        outstanding 22,693,567 and
        22,670,367 shares, respectively                228               228
       Additional paid-in capital                   89,610            87,956
       Retained earnings                            23,572            14,126
       Less:  Treasury stock, at cost;
        194,320 and 178,520 shares,
        respectively                                (2,229)           (1,850)
                        Total
                         stockholders'
                         equity                    111,181           100,460
                        Total liabilities
                         and stockholders'
                         equity                   $396,102          $367,679



                         BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION
            UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                      (In thousands, except per share data)


                                         13 Weeks Ended      26 Weeks Ended
                                        July 1,   July 2,   July 1,   July 2,
                                         2007      2006      2007      2006

    Net sales                          $217,846  $211,806  $434,853  $418,987
    Cost of goods sold, buying and
     occupancy, excluding
     depreciation and amortization
     shown separately below             140,784   135,094   279,747   268,848

    Gross profit                         77,062    76,712   155,106   150,139

    Operating expenses:
        Selling and administrative       61,601    58,571   121,473   115,963
        Depreciation and amortization     4,166     4,004     8,372     8,404

          Total operating expenses       65,767    62,575   129,845   124,367

    Operating income                     11,295    14,137    25,261    25,772

    Interest expense                      1,473     1,869     2,922     3,698

    Income before income taxes            9,822    12,268    22,339    22,074

    Income taxes                          3,879     4,837     8,809     8,700

    Net income                           $5,943    $7,431   $13,530   $13,374

    Dividends per share declared          $0.09     $0.09     $0.18     $0.16

    Earnings per share:
      Basic                               $0.26     $0.33     $0.60     $0.59

      Diluted                             $0.26     $0.33     $0.59     $0.59

    Weighted-average shares of common
     stock outstanding:
      Basic                              22,691    22,707    22,683    22,705

      Diluted                            22,847    22,807    22,825    22,805


SOURCE Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation

Barry Emerson, Sr. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Big 5 Sporting Goods
Corporation, +1-310-536-0611; or John Mills, Senior Managing Director of Integrated
Corporate Relations, Inc., +1-310-954-1105, for Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation
http://www.big5sportinggoods.com