Hibbett Sports Inc (NASDAQ:HIBB) shares were marching higher in premarket trade on Monday after the company revised upwards its fourth-quarter guidance.
In a statement, the athletic specialty retailer said that earnings in the quarter are expected to come in between 47 US cents and 51 US cents, sharply higher from the market consensus of 30 US cents per share.
READ: Hibbett Sports shares advance as e-commerce shown to be booming
Sales are expected to be US$266.7mln, a rise from the US$246.9mln recorded a year ago, and comfortably above market expectations for US$260.4mln.
Same-store sales are expected to rise by 1.6% for the quarter, in stark contrast to the 0.9% decline pencilled in by analysts.
"Results exceeded expectations for the quarter, driven by strength in branded apparel and footwear and continued acceleration in our e-commerce business," said Chief Executive Jeff Rosenthal in a statement.
On the recent US tax reform, the company said its federal tax rate was cut from 35% to 21% with effect from January 2018.
For fiscal 2019, the company is targeting to relocate around US£3.0 to US$4.0mln of the tax savings into selling, general and administration expenses (SG&A) spending to benefit team members and to enable continued investments into omni-channel capability,
The rest will directly benefit the company’s net income, it added.
In premarket trade, Hibbett Sports shares were up 4.414% at US$26.30.