Foot Locker saw its comparable store sales increase by mid-single digits in Europe in the 4th quarter ended last Jan. 19, generating an operating profit margin of just over 10 percent. European stores registered very strong increases in apparel, but there were also solid increases in men's and children's footwear. On a global basis, apparel sales recorded their fourth consecutive quarterly improvement on a sequential basis, although margins are still lower than in footwear.
Overall, the group's sales grew by 5.1 percent to $1,392 million in the quarter, with growth of 6.5 percent in constant currencies and same-store sales rising by 7.3 percent. Gross margins improved to 30.9 percent from 27.7 percent in the year-ago period. Net earnings rose to $57 million from $23 million, but excluding net charges, they jumped by 56.4 percent to $61 million.
For the full financial year, net income grew to $169 million from $48 million, or to $173 million from $86 million on an adjusted basis, as annual revenues increased by 4.0 percent to $4,854 million, up by 4.6 percent on a comparable store basis.
After trimming its store portfolio, Foot Locker is projecting to open 60 new stores, while closing about 55 others. Most of the expansion will take place in Europe. At the end of the last fiscal year, the group had 3,426 stores measuring a total of 7,538,000 square feet, excluding 26 franchises in the Middle East and South Korea, down by 2.1 percent in units and by 2.5 percent in size. The number of stores located outside the U.S. rose by 1.5 percent to 751, but their selling area grew by less than 1 percent to 1,101,000 sqft.
