Academy Sports sales, profit hit record — again
Academy Sports and Outdoors said Thursday the pandemic-era boom it experienced continued into its second quarter.
The Katy-based sports and recreation retailer reported a $191 million profit in the quarter ended July 31, up nearly 14 percent from $168 million during the same period last year. Revenues jumped 12 percent to $1.8 billion from $1.6 billion in the second quarter of 2020.
Ken Hicks, the company’s chief executive, said in an earnings release that the company delivered the best quarterly financial results in its history.
“At some point people have to quit asking: Is this going to continue? Because it continues,” he said in an earnings call, responding to an analyst who asked about
the sustainability of Academy’s growth. “The business that we’re in and what we’re doing has really got some long legs and we’ve got expectations — great expectations — for the future.”
Sales in the quarter were particularly strong in apparel, footwear, fitness and team sports, Hicks said in an interview.
“This was a much more normal back-to-school season,” he said.
E-commerce sales were flat, down less than 1 percent from the year-earlier period after growing 210 percent in the year before.
The company also reported a new share repurchase program under which the company may purchase up to $500 million of its outstanding shares over the next three years. Academy shares closed the day up 1.54 percent at $44.07.
The largest shareholder, New York investment firm KKR, completed two stock sales transactions, Academy said, reducing its ownership to approximately 20 percent as of the end of the quarter.
Hicks said in an interview that the continued pandemic and the strain it’s placing on customers and on supply chains would continue to challenge the company, but he thinks Academy is in a position to clear those hurdles. Getting products here from overseas hasn’t been as much of an issue for Academy since it uses Port Houston, he said, which hasn’t been as congested as ports on the West Coast.
Academy stores may not have as many options as they normally do, but they are well-positioned for the holiday season, he said. “We don’t have all that we want,” he said, “but we should be in a reasonable position.”