Big 5 Sporting Cuts Guidance; Stock Down 7%

(RTTNews) - Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp (BGFV) on Monday slashed its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter and its shares slid 7 percent in after-hours trade.

The company now expects fourth-quarter earnings of $0.14 to $0.16, including $0.01 per share of non-cash impairment charges, $0.01 per share of expenses associated with the development of e-commerce platform and $0.01 per share for a legal settlement charge.

Earlier the company expected fourth-quarter earnings of $0.14 to $0.22 per share, including about $0.01 per share in expenses associated with the development of e-commerce platform.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters currently expect the company to report earnings of $0.21 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company also reported fourth-quarter sales of $250.3 million, up from $248 million last year, while analysts expected $258 million.

Same store sales decreased 0.5% for the quarter, and merchandise margins decreased about 10 basis points from a year ago, the company said.

For the full year 2014, the company expects earnings of $0.68 to $0.70 per share, including $0.03 per share of non-cash impairment charges, $0.03 per share of e-commerce development expenses and $0.01 per share for a legal settlement charge.

Analysts expect earnings of $0.77 per share for the year.

The company expects to issue earnings results for the fiscal 2014 fourth quarter and full year by the end of February.