Sport Chalet posts 4Q loss

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The western sporting goods chain Sport Chalet Inc. reported a loss for its fiscal fourth-quarter on Monday, citing warm winter weather as a drag on sales.

The sporting goods retailer posted a loss of $3.8 million, or 27 cents per share, for the quarter that ended April 1. That's compared with net income of $300,000, or 2 cents per share, a year earlier.

Sport Chalet's revenue fell 16.6 percent to $81.9 million from $98.2 million in last year's fourth quarter, which was a week longer. Excluding that extra week, revenue fell 7.5 percent.

The company, based in Los Angeles, operates 54 stores in California, Nevada and Utah.

Its quarterly sales from stores open at least a year fell 5.3 percent from a year earlier. This comparison is considered a key measure of a retailer's financial performance because it excludes the impact of stores that recently opened or closed.

Sport Chalet said the unseasonably warm and dry winter weather during its third quarter affected its fourth quarter, because it limited the snowpack at resorts most frequented by its customers. The company's sales of winter-related merchandise fell 32 percent for the quarter.

For the full year, Sport Chalet posted a loss of $5.1 million, or 36 cents per share. That's compared with a loss of $3 million, or 21 cents per share, in fiscal 2011.

Its revenue fell 3.5 percent to $349.9 million. In fiscal 2011, which included that extra week, the company had more stores and its sales were more robust.

CEO Craig Levra said the economic challenges of recent years have tested the company, but he is optimistic about its prospects and plans to open a new store in Los Angeles in fiscal 2014 that will be its first new store since 2008.

'We believe the consistent improvements we have made to our business over the past few years have positioned us to return to profitability for fiscal 2013,' Levra said.

Shares of the company's class A common shares fell 6 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $1.32 in after-hours trading. They ended regular trading at $1.38, up 8 cents, or 6.2 percent.



This article is brought to you by DAILY HOROSCOPE.