Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) Beats On Earnings, Misses On Revenue

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Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) released its fourth quarter earnings report before opening bell this morning, posting non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.24 from continuing operations on revenue of $14.47 billion for the quarter which ended on Feb. 1. Analysts had been expecting the retail chain to report earnings of $1.01 per share on revenue of $14.66 billion.

Breaking down Best Buy’s results

The electronics retailer reported GAAP earnings of 88 cents per share and a 120 basis point operating income rate decline. The company included a negative impact of about 100 basis points from their mobile warranty and “new credit card agreement economics,” which it described in its third quarter release.

Domestic revenue was $12.3 billion, a 1.8% decline year over year which was driven mostly by a 1.2% comparable store sales decline. Comparable online sales rose 25.8% to $1.57 billion because of higher average order value, better inventory availability, more traffic and higher conversion rates. International revenue was $2.17 billion, a 9.6% decline because of foreign exchange rates and the loss of revenue from large format store closures in China and Canada and a 1.7% decline in comparable store sales.

Domestic gross profit rate was 20%, compared to 22.3% in the previous year.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) management said they made progress in stabilizing their top and bottom lines. The retailer reported flat domestic comparable store sales. However, domestic operating income declined 70 basis points, compared to 130 basis points in the year before.

Best Buy updates cost cutting initiatives

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) also continued cost reductions as part of its annualized Renew Blue initiative. During the full 2014 fiscal year, the company cut $765 million in costs. That exceeded its target of $725 million. In addition, management said they made progress in stabilizing their top and bottom lines.

The company also noted that it has “enhanced” their customer service by building on “key foundational capabilities.” Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) reported a 20% increase in domestic online sales and a significant increase in their price competitiveness. In addition, they rolled out ship-from-store to more than 1,400 locations and opened 1,400 Samsung and 600 Windows stores within a store.  They also finished the first stage of their plans for optimizing floor space, increased their Net Promoter Score by more than 300 basis points and re-launched their loyalty and credit card programs.

Best Buy guides for the 2015 fiscal year

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) also provided guidance for the upcoming year. The company noted higher than expected negative impacts from their new credit card agreement and “incremental year-over-year pricing investments.”  For the first fiscal quarter, they expect a negative impact of 70 to 90 basis points. In the following two quarters, they expect to start seeing “substantially greater” cost saving under their Renew Blue initiatives and begin to offset the negative impacts.

They’re also planning to simplify the company’s structure, speeding up a non-cash tax benefit of 87 cents to $1.01 per share, which they will treat as a non-GAAP adjustment. They also pointed to other “discrete year-over-year income tax-related items” which they believe will have a negative impact on upcoming quarters.

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