Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ:BGFV) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Reviewing our capital spending. Our CapEx, excluding noncash acquisitions, totaled $11 million for fiscal 2023, primarily representing investments in store-related remodeling, distribution center equipment and computer hardware and software purchases. For the fiscal 2024 full year, we expect CapEx in the range of $13 million to $18 million. We anticipate opening approximately 5 new stores and closing approximately 10 stores, including 6 stores already closed in the first quarter as part of our ongoing efforts to optimize our store base, resulting in approximately 425 stores in operation at the end of the year. Now looking at our cash flow. Net cash provided by operating activities was $18.5 million in fiscal 2023. This compares to net cash used in operating activities of $28.4 million in the prior year.

The year-over-year improvement in our operating cash flow primarily reflected reduced funding of merchandise inventory, partially offset by lower net income this year. Our balance sheet at the end of fiscal 2023 remains healthy. We had zero borrowings under our credit facility and a cash balance of $9.2 million. As Steve mentioned, the decision to reduce the quarterly dividend reflects our capital management objective of maintaining a healthy financial condition amid the challenged macroeconomic backdrop. Now I’ll spend a moment on guidance. For the fiscal 2024 first quarter, we expect same-store sales to decrease in the low double-digit range compared to the fiscal 2023 first quarter. Our same-store sales guidance reflects an expectation that macroeconomic headwinds will continue to impact consumer discretionary spending over the balance of the quarter.

Fiscal 2024 first quarter net loss per basic share is expected in the range of $0.30 to $0.40, which compares to fiscal 2023 first quarter earnings per diluted share of $0.01. That concludes our prepared remarks. I will now turn the call back to Steve for any closing comments.

Steven Miller: Thank you, Barry. Clearly, we are operating at a difficult economic environment. Over our long history, we have successfully navigated through a number of challenging periods, and we are confident that the steps we are taking will leave us well positioned as the environment improves. Thank you all for joining us on today’s call. We appreciate your interest in Big 5 Sporting Goods and look forward to speaking with you again after the conclusion of our first quarter.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today’s teleconference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.