West Marine reports strong gains in 2009
By IBI Magazine
West Marine today reported sales of US$103.9m for its fourth quarter ended January 2, 2010, a 6.4 per cent decline compared to the same period a year ago. The US national retailer's net loss narrowed to US$12.8m compared to a loss of US$29.0m a year ago. For its fiscal year, West Marine reported sales of US$588.4m, a decline of 5.9 per cent compared to 2008. Its net income was US$12.4m, compared to a net loss of US$38.8m for the same period a year ago. West Marine finished the year debt-free, compared to its long-term debt of US$47m at the end of fiscal year 2008. It said in a statement that the second half was its first debt-free period in more than 20 years. It also generated US$62.6m in cash, a record for the company. "We are certainly pleased with our progress during 2009, and are delighted to report such a significant improvement in earnings and cash flow," said Geoff Eisenberg, West Marine CEO, in the statement. "Especially considering how difficult a year it was for the boating industry, I think it's quite noteworthy that West Marine was profitable for the year." Eisenberg said internal changes in 2008 and 2009 helped the company "take advantage of changes in the competitive landscape." Those changes included the liquidation of Boater's World, its largest competitor, an increase in do-it-yourself projects, and new store formats. Despite the positive trends, same-store sales decreased by 3.6 per cent in 2009. Its "Stores" segment reported a 4.8 per cent drop in sales for the year to US$28.9m, largely because of the same-store sales drop and store closures in 2008 and 2009. Port Supply, its wholesale division, said sales fell 26.7 per cent to US$28.9m in 2009, and its "Direct" segment sales decreased 14.7 per cent to US$34.1m. For the fourth quarter, same-store sales fell by 4.8 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. But West Marine said that when a week is removed to give a direct comparison of the two quarters, same-store sales rose by 3.2 per cent for the quarter.
(16 March 2010)
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