Hibbett Q1 earnings plummet on revenue woes

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
May 29, 2022

Hibbett Inc. announced on Friday revenues in the first quarter plummeted by more than 16%, on the back of a dive in comparable store sales, especially physical retail revenues during the three months.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based company said net sales for the 13-weeks ended April 30 ​decreased 16.3% to $424.1 million, following a comparable sales decrease of 18.9%.

During the three months, brick-and-mortar comparable sales plummeted 22%, partially offset by e-commerce sales which increased 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. 

The sportswear retailer said "the prior year first quarter received a significant boost from stimulus funds that did not reoccur in the current period," affecting the growth of sales in its most recent quarter.

"During the first quarter, our team effectively executed our strategic plan and delivered comparable store sales and financial results in line with our expectations. As we’ve previously discussed, our customers spending habits were affected by lower discretionary income due to the absence of stimulus payments received in the first quarter of last year," said Mike Longo, chief executive officer, Hibbett.

"We are pleased to report that the supply chain disruption we experienced at the end of last year has improved and our current inventory position is strong and consistent with our forecast. Our inventory increased by approximately $94 million during the first quarter, with a significant portion arriving late in the quarter. As a result, we have improved our inventory levels in a number of high demand products and are well positioned to achieve our sales targets moving forward."

Net income for the quarter was slashed to $39.3 million, or $2.89 per diluted share, compared with net income of $84.8 million, or $5.00 per diluted share in the prior-year quarter.

The owner of Hibbett and City Gear stores said it also plans to open 30 to 40 net new stores in "underserved areas with little or no competition. This approach has proven to be a significant competitive advantage for us, and our team remains disciplined in the site selection process," the company added.

Looking ahead, total net sales for fiscal 2022 are expected to be relatively flat in dollars compared to fiscal 2022, with ​diluted earnings per share in the range of $9.75 to $10.50.