“The third quarter was another period of strong performance for our Company that reflects the  powerful connectivity we have built with our customers. These impressive top and bottom-line results were against a robust back-to-school season from last year and in spite of the ongoing supply chain challenges. On top of that, we successfully completed the acquisition of WSS in the third quarter,  and subsequently closed the atoms transaction as well, welcoming both of these great teams to the Foot Locker, Inc. family”, commented Richard Johnson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Third Quarter Results

In the third quarter of 2021, which ended on the 30^th of October, Foot Locker posted net income of 158 million US dollars, or 1.52 US dollars per share, on a comparable basis to net income of 265 million US dollars, or 2.52 US dollars per share, in the same period of last year.

Comparable-store sales grew by 2.2% in the third quarter of the current year. Over this period, the company’s total sales increased by 3.9%, reaching 2.19 billion US dollars, as compared to total sales of 2.11 billion US dollars in the third quarter of 2020 and of 1.93 billion US dollars in the same quarter of 2020. Excluding the effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations, total sales in the third quarter of 2021 increased by 3.6%.

The Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Page, added that “the combination of robust demand and fresh inventory, coupled with more full-priced selling, led to gross margin expansion of 380 basis points to 34.7%, from the 30.9% in the prior year period”.

Nine Months Results

In the first nine months of the year, the company reported net income of 790 million US dollars, or 7.54 US dollars per share, as compared to net income of 200 million US dollars, or 1.91 US dollars per share, in similar period of the prior year.

Year-to-date sales increased by 23.5%, amounting to 6.62 billion US dollars, in the first nine months of the current year, on a comparable basis to 5.36 billion US dollars in the same period of 2020. Year-to-date comparable store sales rose by 21.3%, while total year-to-ate sales, excluding the effect of currency fluctuations, increased by 21.7%.

Store Base Update

During the third quarter of 2021, Foot Locker opened 32 new stores, remodelled or relocated 29 stores, closed 80 stores and acquired 93 WWS stores. As of 30^th of October 2021, the company operated 2 965 stores in 27 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, 136 franchised Foot Locker stores were operating in the Middle East.

Full-Year Outlook

Andrew Page, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer’s of Foot Locker, stated that the company expects “global supply chain constraints to persist throughout the fourth quarter; that said, we believe we are positioned for the holiday season, with positive momentum and inventory levels ready to meet customer demand".