hhgregg Raises Q4 Sales, Profit Guidance

By Steve Smith -- TWICE, 4/20/2009

INDIANAPOLIS — hhgregg raised its preliminary net sales and earnings results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year, both ended March 31, due in part to the closing of Circuit City.

The chain, which will issue its final results for the quarter and year on June 2, said last week that its unaudited preliminary results shows sales of $365 million for the fourth quarter, a 13 percent increase over the prior year.

Comp-store sales decreased by approximately 6.5 percent in the quarter, compared with previous comp-store sales guidance of a 7 percent to 11 percent decline

Net income per diluted share for the fourth fiscal quarter is expected to range between 39 cents and 42 cents, as compared with prior-year adjusted net income per diluted share of 32 cents.

For the fiscal year hhgregg expects to report net sales of around $1.4 billion and expects net income per diluted share to range between $1.08 and $1.11 as compared with prior guidance of net income per diluted share of 85 cents to 95 cents and prior-year adjusted net income per diluted share of $1.07.

Dennis May, president/COO, said in a prepared statement, “Our very strong preliminary fourth-quarter results were driven by better than expected performance in sales, gross margin and expense leverage.”

While not mentioning Circuit City by name, he said that its departure “led to a pick-up in traffic and strong buying opportunities. In addition, our cost savings, inventory management and working capital initiatives drove higher operating efficiencies throughout the quarter.”

May warned that in its fiscal first half, the retailer, “will ... face our most difficult same store sales comparison of the year during the first half of the fiscal year, which will be impacted by a larger seasonal concentration of appliances in our sales mix, a shift in timing of the Easter holiday, and the lapping of the 2008 stimulus checks.”

hhgregg currently operates 110 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Sharp Doubles Loss Estimate For Fiscal Yr.

BY GREG TARR

TOKYO — Citing declining sales of LCD TVs and panels, Sharp doubled its loss estimate for the year, ended March 31, but said it expects savings to come by accelerating opening schedule of its 10th-generation LCD panel plant, according to reports out of Japan.

The company also said it will try to lower the impact of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates by shifting some key components production overseas.

Sharp said it now expects an operating loss of $599 million, which will be its first annual operating loss and double its estimate from February.

Sharp said it believes panel demand is starting to recover, and it will move up the start of production at its new 10Gplant in Sakai, Japan by five months to October.

The $3.8 billion plant will produce larger glass substrates, increasing the efficiency of panel production while lowering costs, Sharp said. The new LCD plant is to have an initial capacity of 36,000 glass substrates a month, which will eventually double to 72,000 units.