Venator Group yesterday reported an 80% "jump" in
second-quarter earnings, surpassing analysts estimates on
"strong sales at both its stores and online operations,"
according to Monica Summers of REUTERS. Adjusted net income
for the quarter was $12M, or $0.09 per share, compared to
$7M, or $0.05 per share in the same quarter a year ago.
Summers noted that included in adjusted net income were real
estate "gains" of $0.02 per share in 2000 and $0.11 per
share in '99. Research firm First Call/Thomson Financial
said that Wall Street analysts "on average expected" a
profit of $0.04 (REUTERS, 8/17). Venator shares closed
yesterday at 15 13/16, down 3/16 on the NYSE. As of 11:30am
this morning, Venator was trading at 15 3/16, down 5/8 (THE
DAILY). THE MOTLEY FOOL's Brian Lund wrote that Venator is
in a "groove right now, but so is the athletic footwear
industry. ... At its current price, Venator again has
expectations built into it. It's no longer a bottom-feeder
play, it's a full turnaround play. Management has shown
some ability to deliver, but this is still a tough,
cyclical, asset-intensive business" (MOTLEY FOOL, 8/17).
GART SPORTS: In CO, K.W. Meyers writes that sporting
goods retailer Gart Sports reported $187.6M in sales for the
second quarter, a 9% increase over $172.6M for the same
period a year ago. In addition, discounting a one-time tax
credit of $8.2M, net income "grew nearly five-fold,"
resulting in earnings of $0.34 per diluted share, compared
to $0.07 per share in '99 (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 8/18).
