sonycowboy
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Monday January 10, 7:31 am ET
~ Total Sales Rose 22% to $666 Million ~ ~ Comparable Store Sales Increase 3.6% ~
WEST CHESTER, Pa., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: ELBO - News), the leading global specialty retailer of video games and related products, today announced sales results for the nine- week holiday period ended January 1, 2005. Total sales increased 22.3% to $666.0 million from $544.4 million in the same period last year, and comparable store sales rose 3.6%.
Commenting on the holiday results, Jeffrey Griffiths, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our 2004 holiday selling season benefited from strong software sales, led by Microsoft's Halo 2 and Take Two's Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, and the successful launch of the Nintendo DS platform. However, as the quarter progressed, the industry-wide hardware shortage became more significant than we initially anticipated. Thus far in January, which is an increasingly important month for us, our software lineup remains strong and our customers continue to redeem holiday gift cards."
The industry-wide hardware shortage affected not only the Company's top line but also its margins due to lost sales of higher-margin software and accessories that typically accompany a hardware purchase. As such, based on early trends in January, the Company now expects diluted earnings per share to be at the lower end of its previously announced ranges of $1.62 to $1.72 for the fourth fiscal quarter and $2.20 to $2.30 for the full fiscal year.
The Company expects to announce fourth quarter and year-end results for fiscal 2005 in mid-March.
~ Total Sales Rose 22% to $666 Million ~ ~ Comparable Store Sales Increase 3.6% ~
WEST CHESTER, Pa., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: ELBO - News), the leading global specialty retailer of video games and related products, today announced sales results for the nine- week holiday period ended January 1, 2005. Total sales increased 22.3% to $666.0 million from $544.4 million in the same period last year, and comparable store sales rose 3.6%.
Commenting on the holiday results, Jeffrey Griffiths, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our 2004 holiday selling season benefited from strong software sales, led by Microsoft's Halo 2 and Take Two's Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, and the successful launch of the Nintendo DS platform. However, as the quarter progressed, the industry-wide hardware shortage became more significant than we initially anticipated. Thus far in January, which is an increasingly important month for us, our software lineup remains strong and our customers continue to redeem holiday gift cards."
The industry-wide hardware shortage affected not only the Company's top line but also its margins due to lost sales of higher-margin software and accessories that typically accompany a hardware purchase. As such, based on early trends in January, the Company now expects diluted earnings per share to be at the lower end of its previously announced ranges of $1.62 to $1.72 for the fourth fiscal quarter and $2.20 to $2.30 for the full fiscal year.
The Company expects to announce fourth quarter and year-end results for fiscal 2005 in mid-March.
