Boot Barn wrapped up fiscal 2024 with mixed results on Tuesday, reporting a decrease in sales in the fourth quarter and a slight gain for the year overall.
According to the Irvine, Calif.-based footwear company, net sales in the fourth quarter of 2024 decreased 8.7 percent over the prior year period to $388.5 million. Net income in the period was $29.4 million, or 96 cents per diluted share, compared to $46.4 million, or $1.53 per diluted share the same time last year.
The company said in its earnings statement that the quarterly decline was the result of the decrease in consolidated same store sales and the impact of a 13-week quarter when compared to a 14-week quarter in the prior-year period. These declines were partially offset by the incremental sales from new stores opened over the past twelve months, Boot Barn noted.
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As for the full fiscal year 2024, the company said net sales increased 0.6 percent over the prior year to $1.67 billion. Net income for the year was $147.0 million, or $4.80 per diluted share, compared to $170.6 million, or $5.62 per diluted share in fiscal 2023.
Jim Conroy, president and chief executive officer of Boot Barn was upbeat about the performance in a statement.
“We crossed the 400-store milestone prior to year-end and extended the Boot Barn brand to 45 states across the country,” Conroy said. “In the year, revenue showed modest growth despite experiencing a mid-single digit decline in consolidated same store sales and cycling a 53-week fiscal year. We also grew exclusive brand penetration by 370 basis points which contributed to merchandise margin expansion.”
The CEO added that Boot Barn’s continues to experience further improvement going forward based on meaningfully better performance in the fourth quarter versus Q3.
“In fact, we have seen broad-based sequential improvement across virtually all major merchandise departments, both stores and ecommerce channels, and in all four regional geographies,” Conroy said. “This trajectory began as we progressed from our third quarter into the fourth quarter, then improved in April and again into May where we have seen positive same store sales in both channels on a month-to-date basis. While we expect the consumer to continue to be cautious for the foreseeable future, we feel well positioned to further execute on our long-term strategic initiatives.”
Looking ahead, Boot Barn expects total sales in fiscal 2024 of $1.766 billion to $1.800 billion, representing growth of 5.9 percent to 8.0 percent over the prior year. In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the company expects total sales of $399 million to $407 million, representing growth of 4.0 percent to 6.1 percent over the prior-year period. Boot Barn added that it expects to open 60 new stores in fiscal 2025.
