Finish Line shares plunged on Friday after it reported a higher fiscal third-quarter profit but its adjusted results fell short of Wall Street’s expectations as it dealt with some charges and merchandise margin pressure. The stock dropped 19 percent on Friday and remained largely unchanged in extended trading. The Indianapolis company also cut its fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings forecast.
Finish Line which sells shoes, clothing and accessories, earned $2.6 million, or 5 cents per share, for the period ended Nov. 29. A year earlier it earned $2.3 million, or 5 cents per share. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of a penny per share. Revenue rose to $395.8 million from $364.5 million. This topped $387.6 million that analysts forecast, according to Zacks.
Sales at Finish Line stores open at least a year climbed 4.5 percent. This figure is a key gauge of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed. For fiscal 2015, the company now anticipates adjusted earnings to be about the same as fiscal 2014′s adjusted earnings of $1.67 per share. Its prior guidance was for earnings per share to rise in the high single to low double digit range over fiscal 2014′s results.