Sport Chalet narrows loss, says other stores discounts hurt sales

I’m catching up on Sport Chalet’s earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 27 that were released during ASR.

The important industry retailer narrowed its net loss to $3.8 million vs. $32.4 million for the quarter.

Sales fell 8.9 percent to $95.3 million.

Same-store sales declined 10.8%.

The company said same-store sales were impacted by the weak macro economic environment and competitors’ promotional activity.

While Sport Chalet did not name Dick’s Sporting Goods, I am guessing that is what they are referring to since Dick’s ran several very aggressive promotions during the holidays that other retailers have complained about. Sport Chalet said promotions from other stores hurt same store sales an estimated 0.7 percent.

Sport Chalet, which faced a very dire financial situation during the downturn, said it is meeting its bank covenants. For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Sport Chalet EBITDA totaled $6.2 million vs. the $5.6 million required in the covenants.

Gross profit during the quarter improved to 25.2 percent vs. 22.3 percent during the same period last year.

The company recorded a $10.9 million non-cash charge related to the performance of certain stores and received a $9.1 million tax benefit.

Sport Chalet operates 55 stores in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.