Foot Locker Reports Q4 Beat, Shares Gain 3%

Shares of Foot Locker, Inc. FL were trading higher by around 3 percent after the company reported its fourth quarter results.

Foot Locker said it earned $1.16 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $2.01 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.12 per share on revenue of $2.00 billion.

Comparable store sales rose 7.9 percent in the quarter, while net income rose to $158 million from $146 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Foot Locker also reported that it earned $4.29 per share for the full year fiscal 2015, an increase of 20 percent from 2014's level. In addition, revenue rose 3.6 percent to $7.412 billion which marked the highest level of sales ever recorded by the company. Comparable store sales also rose 8.5 percent in the full year.

Foot Locker ended fiscal 2015 with $1.021 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $130 million of debt. The company also repurchased approximately 6.7 million shares of its own stock during the year for $419 million.

Foot Locker opened 111 new stores, remodeled or relocated 209 stores and closed 151 stores during the full year.

Looking forward to fiscal 2016, Foot Locker expects to generate a mid-single digit comparable sales gain and a double-digit percentage increase in earnings per share.

"In 2015, we continued to deliver outstanding financial performance across channels, geographies, banners, and product categories," said Richard Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We began the year by introducing a revised strategic framework and priorities, as well as elevated long-term financial objectives.

"We recorded many all-time best performances for our Company in 2015, including reaching an adjusted Earnings Before Interest and Taxes rate of 12.8 percent," stated Lauren Peters, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We remain focused on productivity, boosting our Return On Invested Capital to 15.8 percent and our sales per gross square foot to $504."