Shares for Boot Barn Holdings were up more than 5 percent shortly after markets closed on Wednesday, following a sales and earnings beat for the Western apparel and footwear retailer.
In the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, Boot Barn reported net sales of $383.7 million, an increase of 4.9 percent over the same time last year, and ahead of the company’s expected sales target between $357 million to $364 million, for decline of between 2.4 percent and 0.5 percent. Net income was $34.3 million, with diluted earnings per share of $1.13, ahead of expectations outlined by the company that was looking for EPS of between 79 cents and 85 cents. Same store sales grew 2.9 percent and exclusive brand penetration grew to 38 percent in Q1.
According to Boot Barn president and CEO Jim Conroy, the better-than-expected results were due to a “steadily improving retail store” sales trend, which became positive in June and persisted through July.
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“While uncertainty in the macro environment persists, we are pleased with the positive momentum we have seen in the business,” he said in a statement.
The strong Q1 results come after a sales miss in Q4. Though generally, the Irvine, Calif.-based company has been lauded by analysts due to its expanding store count, exclusive brands and surge in women’s Western boots. A recent report from foot traffic data analytics firm Placer.ai found that Boot Barn could enter the second half of 2023 with a strong bump in traffic, thanks to what it expects to be a strong back-to-school season.
Boot Barn updated its full-year guidance and now expects to achieve total sales of between $1.715 billion and $1.748 billion in fiscal year 2024, which would represent growth of between 3.5 percent and 5.5 percent over the prior year. Net income is expected to be between $154.2 million and $163.4 million, with net income per diluted share of between $5.05 and $5.35. Boot Barn also expects to open 52 new stores in fiscal year 2024.
In Q2, Boot Barn expects to see revenues in the range of $372 million to $379 million, an increase of 5.8 percent to 7.8 percent over the prior year. Net income per diluted share is expected to be between $0.84 and $0.90 and same store sales are expected to decline between approximately 5.5 percent to 3.5 percent.
