Financial reports: Sportsman’s Guide, Sharper Image, BioSource

Sportsman’s Guide Captures Year-End Profit

A 10% rise in sales and a more profitable mailing plan led The Sportsman’s Guide (Nasdaq: SGDE) to end 2001 in the black. For the year ended Dec. 31, the cataloger of outdoor gear and apparel recorded net earnings of $2.8 million on $169.7 million in sales. In 2000, the company took a loss of $3.2 million on sales of $154.9 million. Internet sales accouted for 21% of revenue, up from 15% the previous year. In addition to its SportsmansGuide.com site, the South St. Paul, MN-based company runs BargainOutfitters.com.

For the fourth quarter of 2001, Sportsman’s Guide had net earnings of $3.3 million, compared with a net loss of $699,000 for the fourth quarter of 2000. During the same period, sales rose from $59.0 million to $62.5 million. The company credits the improved figures on higher catalog response rates, higher online sales, and record levels of membership in its frequent-buyers club.

Sharper Image Net Income Plunges 93% Like a child that tumbled off one of its patented Razor scooters, cataloger/retailer Sharper Image Corp. (Nasdaq: SHRP) ended fiscal 2001 a bit bruised. Revenue was down 6% and net earnings down 93%.

For the year ended Jan. 31, the high-tech gifts marketer posted net earnings of $1.3 million on sales of $396.2 million. The previous year, it had enjoyed earnings of $17.4 million on sales of $421.1 million. Catalog sales increased 5%, to $101.3 million from $96.2 million. But Internet revenue, including auction sales, decreased 17%, to $49.8 million from $60.2 million. Total store sales decreased 7%, to $232.1 million, with comparable store sales down 16%. The San Francisco-based company noted last year’s numbers were exceptionally strong due to the huge popularity of its Razor scooter. Scooter sales have since cooled considerably.

As for the fourth quarter, net income decreased 11%, to $11.6 million from $13.1 million the previous year. Revenue decreased 6%, to $166.6 million from $176.7 million. Catalog sales decreased 10%, to $38.6 million from last year’s $43.0 million, and Internet sales tumbled 25% to $20.5 million from $27.5 million.

BioSource Ends Year in the Black Drug discovery products manufacturer/marketer BioSource International (Nasdaq: BIOI) saw annual net sales increase 9%, to $35.2 million for the year ended Dec. 31. And while the Camarillo, CA-based company had posted a net loss of $4.0 million in 2000, for 2001 it reported income of $741,000.