Robert Julian
Analyst · Craig-Hallum. Please go ahead
Thank you, Jon. I will begin my remarks today with a review of our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2019 results, followed by a few remarks about fiscal year 2020. Most of the financial figures discussed on today’s call are reported on a U.S. GAAP basis. In the instances where we report non-GAAP financial measures, we have reconciled the non-GAAP measures to the corresponding GAAP measures in our earnings press release, which was issued earlier today.Turning to slide eight of the PowerPoint presentation. Fourth quarter 2019 net sales were $258.2 million, compared to $242.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of $15.5 million or 6.4%.Same-store sales decreased 4.8% in the quarter, compared to our updated guidance range of negative 6% to negative 7%. The most challenging product categories in Q4 were clothing, camping and footwear.However, our sales performance rebounded nicely starting in early January, led by ammunition and firearms. Same-store sales of ammunition and firearms increased 17.6% in 10.0%, respectively, in the month of January. Overall, same-store sales growth in January was positive 1.7%.Q4 2019 gross profit was $85.0 million, compared to $79.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of $5.5 million or 6.9%. Gross margin was relatively flat for the quarter at 32.9% versus 32.8% in the prior year period.Product margin improved 80 basis points, primarily due to the discount we received on the inventory acquired in the acquisition of eight Field and Stream stores in Q3. Gross margin was negatively impacted by 80 basis points in the quarter due to reduced vendor incentives as a result of lower total purchases.SG&A expense of $71.8 million for Q4 2019 was an increase of $3.9 million or 14.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. We incurred additional payroll expense of $3.1 million, primarily due to minimum wage and benefit increases, plus new store growth. Rent expense increased approximately $2.8 million, primarily due to new store openings.Other operating expense increased approximately $2.3 million, primarily due to incremental marketing, software support and audit fees. Store operating expense, including utilities, janitorial and security expenses increased due to new store opening.We also incurred $0.5 million of incremental preopening expenses and transaction costs associated with the Field and Stream transactions. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A increased approximately 200 basis points to 27.8% in the quarter.Income from operations was $13.2 million in Q4 2019, compared to $17.0 million in the prior year. Interest expense in Q4 2019 was $1.4 million, compared to $2.7 million in Q4 of 2018, a reduction of $1.3 million. This improvement is a result of lower total borrowings, primarily attributable to working capital improvements.We recorded income tax expense of $2.1 million in Q4 2019, compared to $3.7 million in Q4 2018. This $1.3 million reduction is the result of several discrete items impacting the Q4 2019 tax provision, including R&D tax credits, state inventory tax credits and changes in state deferred tax rates.Net income for the quarter was $9.7 million or $0.22 per share based on a the weighted average share count of $43.3 million, as compared to net income of $10.6 million or $0.25 per share based on a weighted average share count of $43.0 million in 2018.Adjusted net income was $9.3 million or $0.21 per diluted share based on a diluted weighted average share count of $43.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to adjusted net income of $10.6 million or $0.25 per diluted share based on a diluted weighted average share count of $43.1 million in 2018.Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $19.6 million, compared to $22.0 million in the prior year period.Turning to slide nine, I will now comment on our full year 2019 results. Fiscal year 2019 net sales were $886.4 million, compared to $849.1 million in 2018, an increase of $37.3 million or 4.4%. Same-store sales decreased 0.9% in the fiscal year 2019. This compares to our updated full year guidance of negative 1.3% and to negative 1.7% for the year.We ended the fiscal year with 103 stores operating in 27 states. Total square footage grew 13.6% in the fiscal year 2019 compared to 2018.Full year 2019 gross profit was $296.6 million compared to $284.9 million in the 2018, an increase of $11.7 million or 4.1%. Gross margin was relatively flat at 33.5% versus 33.6% in the prior year period.Product margin improved 30 basis points for the year primarily due to the discount we received on inventory purchased in the Q3 acquisition of eight Field and Stream stores. Gross margin was negatively impacted by 40 basis points for the year due to reduced vendor incentives as a result of lower total purchases.SG&A expense of $263.2 million for fiscal year 2019 was an increase of $22.3 million or 9.2% compared to 2018. We incurred additional payroll expense of $8.3 million, primarily due to minimum wage and benefit increases, plus new store growth. Rent expense increased by $5.8 million, primarily due to new store openings.Other operating expense increased approximately $5.6 million, primarily due to incremental marketing, software support and audit fees. Store operating expense increased due to new store openings. We incurred $1.4 million of incremental preopening expenses in transaction cost associated with the acquired Field and Stream stores.Depreciation expense increased $1.1 million in 2019 compared to prior year. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A increased approximately 130 basis points to 29.7%.Income from operations was $33.5 million for fiscal year 2019, compared to $44.0 million in the prior period. Interest expense for fiscal year 2019 was $8.0 million, compared to $13.2 million in 2018, a reduction of $5.2 million. This improvement is a result of lower total borrowings, primarily attributable to inventory reduction and other working capital improvements.We recorded income tax expense of $5.3 million for fiscal year 2019, compared to $7.1 million in 2018. The year-over-year reduction is primarily attributable to the discrete Q4 tax benefits addressed in my earlier remarks.Net income for fiscal year 2019 was $20.2 million or $0.47 per share based on a weighted average share count of $43.2 million. That’s compared to net income of $23.7 million or $0.55 per share based on a weighted average share count of $42.9 million in 2018.Adjusted net income was $20.6 million or $0.47 per share based on a diluted weighted average share count of $43.5 million in fiscal year 2019, compared to adjusted net income of $25.9 million or $0.60 per share based on a diluted weighted average share count of $43.0 million in 2018. Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal year 2019 was $59.0 million, compared to $68.5 million in the prior year.Turning now to slide 10 and our balance sheet. Fiscal year 2019 ending inventory was $276 million, compared to $277 million at the end of last year, a $1 million reduction. This result was achieved despite adding 11 new stores in 2019. On a per store basis, inventory was down 11.0% compared to prior year.We incurred $7.5 million of capital expenditures in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to $2.7 million in Q4 2018, an increase of $4.8 million. This increase was primarily associated with the build out of our new corporate headquarters and our new Legacy Shooting Center. Full year 2019 capital expenditures were $20.9 million, compared to $17.9 million in 2018.Fiscal year 2019 operating cash flow was $77.9 million versus $32.2 million for 2018. The $45.8 million improvement in operating cash flow year-over-year is primarily due to a reduction in working capital.Our liquidity remains strong, as we ended the year with $116.1 million in outstanding borrowings on the line of credit and approximately $44.3 million availability on the revolving credit facility.The outstanding balance on our revolving line of credit was $28.2 million lower at the end of 2019, compared to the same period last year, even while utilizing this facility to fund the acquisition of eight new Field and Stream stores in Q3 2019. The outstanding balance on our long-term debt was $29.7 million at the end of fiscal year 2019, compared to $35.6 million at year-end 2018, a reduction of $5.9 million.Finally, I would like to make a few comments on fiscal year 2020. As Jon noted in his remarks, we are not providing forward guidance at this time due to uncertainties surrounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.In the short-term we have certainly experienced unusually high demand for many of our products, including generators, dehydrated food, water filtration, propane, first aid supplies, firearms and ammunition. Most of our stores remain open at this time, so that we can provide our customers access to these essential items.However, we recognize that this situation is fluid and could change very rapidly. Therefore, we are also actively developing contingency plans and manage our cash, inventory, expenses and liquidity very closely.We feel confident that we have sufficient financial flexibility to weather the potential for negative impact to our business in the future due to COVID-19. We will update you again and hope to provide more clarity on our next earnings call in June.With that, I will now turn the call back over to the operator for questions.