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hhgregg Announces Second Fiscal Quarter Operating Results

Second Quarter Highlights

• Net sales decreased 5.0% to $587.6 million
• Comparable store sales decreased (8.8%)
• Gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased to 29.6% compared to 28.6% in the prior year quarter
• Net income per diluted share was $0.11 vs. net income per diluted share of $0.16 in the prior year quarter
• The Company opened 13 stores in the second fiscal quarter, for a first half total of 15 new stores and expects to open a total of 20 new stores in fiscal year 2013

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- hhgregg, Inc. (NYSE: HGG):

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(1) Comprised of net sales at stores in operation for at least 14 full months, including remodeled and relocated stores, as well as net sales for the Company's e-commerce site.

Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics retailer, hhgregg, Inc. ("hhgregg" or the "Company") today reported net income of $3.8 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, for the three month period ended September 30, 2012, compared with net income of $6.0 million, or $0.16 per diluted share for the comparable prior year period. For the six month period ended September 30, 2012, the Company reported a net loss of ($1.9) million, or ($0.05) per diluted share, compared with net income of $5.3 million, or $0.13 per diluted share for the comparable prior year period. The decrease in net income for the three month period was the result of an 8.8% decrease in comparable store sales, an increase in net advertising expense as a percentage of net sales and an increase in SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales, partially offset by an increase in gross profit as a percentage of net sales and an increase in net sales due to the net addition of 19 stores during the past 12 months. The decrease in net income for the six month period was the result of a comparable store sales decrease of 7.2%, an increase in net advertising expense as a percentage of net sales and an increase in SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales, partially offset by an increase in gross profit as a percentage of net sales and an increase in net sales due to the net addition of 19 stores during the past 12 months.

Dennis May, President and CEO commented, "While the video category remained challenging across the industry in our second fiscal quarter, we were pleased with the early progress of strategic initiatives designed to enhance store productivity. While we improved our video sales mix to focus on larger screen televisions which improved our gross margin rate, we were disappointed by the amount of overall market share of televisions we lost. Over the next few quarters we will continue to refine our strategy to find the right mix between gross margin rate and market share. We continue to see positive results in our appliance business and are continuing to test new merchandise and tailor our assortment around products that leverage our consultative sales force, delivery and installation network and private-label credit offering. In our fiscal third quarter, we expect to fully rollout furniture and exercise equipment to all of our stores, along with continuing to rollout to a selective number of stores an expanded offering of tablet and hand held consumer products."

Net sales for the three months ended September 30, 2012 decreased 5.0% to $587.6 million from $618.6 million in the comparable prior year period. The decrease in net sales for the three month period was the result of a comparable store sales decrease of 8.8% along with the lapping of strong grand opening sales performance from stores that opened in the prior fiscal year, partially offset by the net addition of 19 stores during the past 12 months. Net sales for the six months ended September 30, 2012 increased 2.6% to $1.08 billion from $1.05 billion in the comparable prior year period. The increase in net sales for the six month period was attributable to the net addition of 19 stores during the past 12 months partially offset by a comparable store sales decrease of 7.2%.

Net sales mix and comparable store sales percentage changes by product category for the three and six months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 were as follows:

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⁽¹⁾ Primarily consists of computers, mobile phones and tablets.

⁽²⁾ Primarily consists of audio, fitness equipment, furniture and accessories, mattresses and personal electronics.

The decrease in comparable store sales for the three month period ended September 30, 2012 was driven primarily by a decrease in net sales in the video and other categories, partially offset by increases in net sales in the appliance and computing and mobile phones categories. The video category comparable store sales decline was driven by a double digit decrease in unit demand partially offset by a single digit increase in average selling prices. The decrease in comparable store sales for the other category was primarily a result of double digit comparable store sales decreases in cameras, camcorders and small electronics, partially offset by growth in the mattress category. The appliance category increase in comparable store sales was driven by an increase in average selling price due to favorable mix shifts. The computing and mobile phones category was led by increased demand in the offering of tablet computers and mobile phones, partially offset by declines in notebook and netbook computers.

Gross profit margin, expressed as gross profit as a percentage of net sales, increased 107 basis points for the three months ended September 30, 2012 to 29.6% from 28.6% for the comparable prior year period. The increase was largely due to an increase in gross profit margin rates in the video and appliance categories, partially offset by modest declines in the computing and mobile phone and other categories. The increase in the video gross margin rate was largely due to a favorable mix of larger screen size LED models, which carry higher gross margin rates than smaller screen LCD models. The appliance category was favorably impacted by a continued mix shift to higher efficiency products which generate higher gross margin rates.

SG&A expense, as a percentage of net sales, increased 77 basis points for the three month period ended September 30, 2012 compared to the prior year period. The increase in SG&A as a percentage of net sales was largely a result of increases in employee wage and benefit expenses due to increased health insurance costs, in addition to the deleveraging effect of the net sales decline. This increase was partially offset by decreases in other SG&A accounts as a result of cost control measures implemented during the first and second fiscal quarters.

Net advertising expense, as a percentage of net sales, increased 48 basis points during the three months ended September 30, 2012 compared to the prior year period. The increase as a percentage of net sales was driven largely by the deleveraging effect of the net sales decline.

Depreciation expense, as a percentage of net sales, increased 35 basis points for the three months ended September 30, 2012 compared to the prior year period. The increase as a percentage of net sales was primarily due the capital spend associated with the 19 net new stores opened during the past 12 months and the deleveraging effect of the net sales decline.

The Company's effective income tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2012 increased to 39.8% from 38.4% in the comparable prior year period. The increase in the effective income tax rate is primarily the result of federal income tax credits recognized in fiscal 2012 under the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010. These credits are no longer available in fiscal 2013.

Share Repurchase

During the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2012, the Company repurchased 1,198,437 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $8.3 million. The shares were repurchased under the Company's $50 million share repurchase program that was authorized by the Company's Board of Directors on May 24, 2012 and expires on May 23, 2013. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had approximately $30.5 million authorized remaining under the current share repurchase program.

Guidance

The Company continues to expect net income per diluted share to be within a range of $0.90 to $1.05 for fiscal 2013.

Included in the Company's guidance are the following annual assumptions:

• fiscal 2013 comparable store sales of negative 6% to negative 4%
• fiscal 2013 net sales increase of 3% to 6%
• 20 new store openings in fiscal 2013, from a previous range of 20 to 22
• the impact of year to date share repurchase activity of 2.3 million shares at a cost of $19.5 million

Jeremy Aguilar, Chief Financial Officer commented, "Our balance sheet and liquidity remain strong, with inventory per store down 10%, no long-term debt and no borrowings under our revolving credit facility. This positions us well to execute on our strategic initiatives to drive additional traffic and increase sales productivity in our comparable store base. While the overall operating environment will likely remain volatile for the foreseeable future, we remain committed to improving shareholder value over the long-term and are reiterating our net income per diluted share guidance for fiscal 2013 of $0.90 to $1.05 per share."

Teleconference and Webcast

hhgregg will be conducting a conference call to discuss operating results for the three months ended September 30, 2012, on Friday, November 2, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). Interested investors and other parties may listen to a simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto hhgregg's website at www.hhgregg.com. The on-line replay will be available for a limited time immediately following the call. The call can also be accessed live over the phone by dialing (877) 304-8963. Callers should reference the hhgregg earnings call.

About hhgregg

hhgregg is a specialty retailer of consumer electronics, home appliances and related services operating under the name hhgregg™. hhgregg currently operates 224 stores in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Safe Harbor Statement

The following is a Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

This press release includes forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should," or "will," or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. In particular, statements about the expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance of hhgregg, Inc. are forward-looking statements.

hhgregg has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While hhgregg believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, these forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control. These and other important factors may cause hhgregg's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some of the key factors that could cause actual results to differ from hhgregg's expectations are: the effect of general and regional economic and employment conditions on its net sales; impact of average selling prices on net sales; competition in existing, adjacent and new metropolitan markets; competition from internet retailers, ability to modify its product mix based on changes in consumer trends and preferences; its ability to effectively execute its strategic initiatives, particularly in the video category; its ability to effectively manage and monitor its operations, costs and service quality; its reliance on a small number of suppliers; rapid inflation or deflation in core product prices; the failure of manufacturers to introduce new products and technologies; customer acceptance of new technology; its dependence on the Company's key management personnel and its ability to attract and retain qualified sale's personnel; its ability to negotiate with its suppliers to provide product on a timely basis at competitive prices; the identification and acquisition of suitable sites for its stores and the negotiation of acceptable leases for those sites; fluctuation in seasonal demand; its ability to maintain its rate of growth and penetrate new geographic areas; its ability to locate suitable new store sites; its ability to obtain additional financing and maintain its credit facilities; its ability to maintain and upgrade its information technology systems; the effect of a disruption at the Company's central distribution centers; changes in cost for advertising; and changes in legal and/or trade regulations, currency fluctuations and prevailing interest rates.

Other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release are more fully described in the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's fiscal 2012 Form 10-K filed May 23, 2012, and in the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's fiscal 2013 Form 10-Q filed August 2, 2012. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. hhgregg does not undertake, and specifically declines, any obligation to update any of these statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of these statements to reflect future events or developments.

Certain percentage amounts do not sum due to rounding

hhgregg
Andy Giesler, Vice President of Finance, 317-848-8710
investorrelations@hhgregg.com

Source: hhgregg

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