Big 5 tops 4Q profit forecasts

By Associated Press

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $2.8 million.

The El Segundo-based company said it had profit of 13 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and asset impairment costs, were 19 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 16 cents per share.

The sporting goods retailer posted revenue of $250.3 million in the period, which matched Street forecasts.

For the year, the company reported profit of $14.9 million, or 67 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $977.9 million.

Big 5 shares have declined 16 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $12.35, a fall of 28 percent in the last 12 months.