UPDATE: Hibbett Sports Beats Q4 Expectations, Shares Surge

Shares of

climbed more than 10% in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. The Birmingham, Alabama-based company posted quarterly earnings of $19.9 million, compared to $16.9 million, in the year-ago period. EPS surged to $0.79 from $0.64. Its sales gained 9.9% to $239.3 million. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $0.68 per share on revenue of $235 million. Comparable store sales rose 5.4% in the quarter. Gross profit narrowed to 35.5% of net sales from 35.8% of net sales. The company ended the quarter with $88.4 million of available cash and cash equivalents. Jeff Rosenthal, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are very pleased with our performance in the fourth quarter. We experienced strong comps during the holiday period on top of solid comps last year, and our product assortment resonated well with customers. In January, comps were especially strong due to better weather and earlier tax refunds. As we started Fiscal 2016, we experienced softer sales in February due to weather-related store closures across many of our markets. We believe this trend will normalize over the next few weeks, and feel confident in our assortment and inventory position." For fiscal 2016, the company projects earnings of $2.95 to $3.09 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $3.01 per share. The company also expects comparable-store sales to rise in the low-to-mid single-digit range. Hibbett also announced its plans to open around 80 to 85 new stores. Hibbett shares jumped 10.26% to $57.70 in pre-market trading.