Best Buy reported a solid start to its fiscal year as strong growth in gaming and mobile along with double-digit gains in online sales were cited by company officials as key drivers.
Sales for the quarter ended April 29 were $8.5 billion, up from $8.4 billion in the comparable quarter the previous year. Domestic comparable store sales were up 1.4% with domestic comparable online sales up 22.5%.
“Our first quarter performance reflects the strength of our customer value proposition and continued momentum in the execution of our strategy,” said Hubert Joly, Best Buy’s chairman and CEO. “Compared to our expectations going into the quarter, our revenue was higher due to strong performance in gaming, a better-than-expected result in mobile, and the improvement of overall sales trends due to the arrival of delayed federal tax refund checks.”
Net earnings for the quarter were $188 million, down from net earnings of $229 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017. Diluted earnings per share were $0.60 versus $0.70 in the same quarter the prior year.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, company officials expect comparable sales growth in the range of 1.5% to 2.5% and non-GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $0.57 to $0.62.
