GameStop Says Holiday Sales Rose 1.8%

GameStop Inc. on Tuesday said its sales for the holiday season rose 1.8%—helped by new game consoles and collectibles—and narrowed its earnings guidance for the quarter and year.

Shares of the company, which have fallen 13% over the past 12 months, fell 3.6% to $28.32 in premarket trading.

For the nine-week holiday period ended Jan. 2, sales rose to $2.99 billion. The company said foreign-exchange rates hurt sales by $119.5 million, and that sales increased 5.9% on a constant-currency basis. Same-store sales grew 4.4%. Sales of new hardware, propelled by manufacturer promotions for Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, rose 4.5%

Chief Executive Paul Raines said growth in tech brands and collectibles more than offset a decline in new software sales. New software sales fell 9.7%, primarily because of fewer Nintendo titles available compared with last year, and declines in prior-generation software sales.

GameStop now expects earnings in the fourth quarter of between $2.19 and $2.25 a share, compared with previous guidance of $2.12 to $2.32 a share. Same-store sales are expected to grow 2.5% to 4%, compared with previous guidance for a loss of 1% to growth of 6%.

For the full year, the company anticipates earnings of $3.69 to $3.75 a share, compared with previous guidance for $3.66 to $3.86 a share. Same-store sales are expected to grow 4% to 5%, compared with previous guidance of 2% to 6%.

Write to Anne Steele at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 12, 2016 09:45 ET (14:45 GMT)

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