Best Buy Dec. same-store sales climb 1.5 percent, fueled by games, laptops

RICHFIELD, Minn. -- Fueled by video games, flat panel TVs and notebook computers, Best Buy Co.'s same-store sales climbed 1.5 percent in December, meeting the consumer electronics retailer's expectations but falling below last year's growth rate.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least one year, is an important indicator of retailer performance since it measures sales at existing stores rather than newly opened ones. In the same period a year ago, the company reported a 7 percent jump in its same-store sales.

A calendar shift that moved the post-Thanksgiving week to fiscal November from December decreased December's same-store sales figure while increasing it for the third quarter, the company said Friday. Best Buy's same-store sales numbers met company expectations amid an otherwise weak season for retailers.

Best Buy, which also reaffirmed its full-year outlook, said total sales rose 11 percent during the month to $7.3 billion. International sales grew much faster than U.S. sales, though they made up a much smaller portion of the month's revenue.

Sales at Best Buy's domestic segment climbed 8 percent to $6 billion, while international sales jumped 30 percent to $1.3 billion.

In addition to video games, flatscreen TVs and laptops, GPS devices also sold well. Same-store sales of projection and tube TVs, MP3 players, printers and monitors declined.

The company still expects earnings between $3.10 and $3.20 for fiscal 2008, which ends in February. Best Buy forecast revenue of about $40 billion.

Analysts, on average, are predicting a profit of $3.18 per share, on sales of $40.2 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Shares climbed 43 cents to $47 in premarket electronic trading.