Dick’s Sporting Goods reported a big boost in first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, thanks, in part, to a strong sales performance across its retail divisions.
For the period ended May 1, the Coraopolis, Pa.-based firm registered net income of $26.2 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, compared with $10.2 million, or 9 cents, for the same quarter of last year.
Net sales in the quarter rose to $1.05 billion, from $959.7 million the previous year.
Analysts had been expecting earnings per share of 14 cents on sales of $1.03 billion.
The company attributed the improvement to an 8.2 percent increase in comparable-store sales and the addition of five new store locations. By division, comp sales at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores rose 7.6 percent in the quarter, Golf Galaxy gained 12.4 percent and e-commerce jumped 15.2 percent.
“In the first quarter, we grew earnings through higher sales and improved margins, increased our cash position by $161 million, and effectively managed our inventory levels,” said Edward Stack, chairman and CEO, in a statement. “At the same time, we continued to invest in the future growth of our business through the opening of new Dick’s Sporting Goods stores.”
