Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc has lifted its fiscal 2023 earnings guidance despite seeing net sales decline during the second quarter.
The firm reported 2Q earnings per share of $2.09, ahead of the analyst estimates of around $2.02.
While 2Q revenue declined nearly 6% year-over-year, the $1.58 billion figure put up during the quarter was in line with analyst expectations.
As a result, shares of the retail company were up 14.1% at Thursday’s open, trading around $56.98 in the morning.
Operating margin improved from the first quarter, Academy noted in a statement, driven by higher gross margin, sequential improvement in shrink as a rate to sales and “disciplined” expense management.
For the 2023 financial year, the group lifted its adjusted earnings estimates to between $6.95 and $7.65 per share. Academy is expecting net sales in the range of $6.18 billion to $6.37 billion, which remained unchanged.
CEO Steve Lawrence told shareholders in a statement that the company is “well positioned” to maintain a leadership position in the sports and outdoors space.
Academy Sports is planning to open 11 or 12 new stores this fall, Lawrence added.