By Dan Gallagher
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) - GameStop Corp. saw earnings rise 22%
during its fiscal fourth quarter as video game sales continued to
grow despite the slowing economy.
The Grapevine, Tex.-based video game retailer (GME) also stuck
to its earlier forecast for the current quarter. Shares of GameStop
were up slightly to $26.92 in early morning trading Thursday.
In the quarter ended Jan. 31, meanwhile, GameStop reported
earnings of $232 million, or $1.39 a share, compared to $190
million, or $1.14 a share, for the same period last year.
Revenue also grew 22%, to $3.49 billion. Same-store sales grew
9.6% during the quarter.
The latest quarter included income of 5 cents a share related to
the acquisition of Micromania. Adjusted for that item, GameStop
matched the forecast of Wall Street analysts, who had been
expecting earnings of $1.34 per share on revenue of $3.48 billion,
according to FactSet Research.
The results were also roughly in line with a pre-announcement
from the company last month.
In the current quarter, GameStop predicted earnings of 40 cents
to 42 cents a share. Analysts had been forecasting earnings of 40
cents a share on revenue of $1.95 billion.
For 2009, GameStop reiterated its prior forecast that earnings
per share will increase 18% to 22%, with total sales growth of 10%
to 12%.
"Looking at 2009, we are confident in our ability to increase
sales and earnings, generate significant cash, advance market
share, and maintain a financially sound balance sheet," Chief
Executive Dan DeMatteo said in a statement.