=Finish Line (FINL) cuts projections amid disappointing sales

• FINL releases prelim Q2 results, lowers FY18 guidance- sees Q2 sales of $469.4 mln vs. $477.8 mln Capital IQ Consensus Est, sees EPS of $0.08-0.12 vs. $0.38 consensus.

Finish Line releases prelim Q2 results, lowers FY18 guidance- sees Q2 sales of $469.4 mln vs. $477.8 mln Capital IQ Consensus Est, sees EPS of $0.08-0.12 vs. $0.38 consensus 

• Co lowers comparable sales to declining 3-5% versus its previous guidance for an increase in the low-single digit range
• Co also lowers EPS guidance to $0.50-0.60 vs. $1.11 Capital IQ Consensus Est
• Co sees Q3 loss of ($0.40)-(0.32) vs. a loss of ($0.25) consensus, company expects Finish Line comparable sales to decrease 3% to 5%
• For the fourth quarter ending March 3, 2018, a 14-week quarter, the company expects Finish Line comparable sales to decrease 3% to 5%... sees Q4 EPS of $0.50-0.58 vs. $0.74 consensus
• "The marketplace for athletic footwear became much more promotional as our second quarter progressed resulting in challenging sales and gross margin trends," said Sam Sato, Chief Executive Officer of Finish Line. "Despite these headwinds, we remained disciplined in managing our inventories and expect to end the quarter with inventory levels down ~7-8% compared with a year ago." 
• Based on year-to-date results and the expectation that sales and gross margin trends remain challenging through the remainder of the current fiscal year, co lowered full year guidance
• Sato continued, "We believe it is prudent to adjust our outlook as we expect the environment to remain highly competitive and promotional throughout the remainder of the year. In light of our disappointing second quarter results and revised projections for fiscal 2018, we will remain very disciplined in managing our expenses and inventories throughout the remainder of the year. Looking ahead, we are optimistic that the work we are doing with our vendor partners to enhance our merchandise assortments will start benefiting our top-line results early next year. At the same time, we continue to focus on building our omnichannel capabilities to strengthen our customer connections, improve our service levels and further capitalize on the shift toward digital commerce. We are also making good progress rightsizing the business to better compete in the current environment. In the past 12-months, we've made a number of changes that have created a more nimble organization and generated approximately $6 million in annualized savings, and over the past 2 years we've closed ~80 underperforming stores. We remain steadfastly focused on executing our strategic plan to drive increased shareholder value over the longer term."