GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) said Thursday that its first quarter profit rose to $80.4 million, or 56 cents per share, from $75.2 million, or 48 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Total sales for the first quarter of 2011 increased 9.5% to $2.28 billion, in comparison to $2.08 billion in the prior year quarter. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report a profit of 54 cents per share on revenue of $2.23 billion. otal company comparable store sales were 5.3%, driven primarily by strong HD console sales, the Nintendo 3DS launch and a 9.5% growth of pre-owned products. Digital sales increased 53% over last year as each digital segment experienced strong growth.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2011, the company expects comparable store sales to range from -2.0% to flat. Diluted earnings per share are expected to range from $0.20 to $0.23. As expected, the decline in year-over-year earnings stems primarily from the previously announced planned investments GameStop is making in its strategic initiatives, which will be approximately $0.04 per share in the second quarter.
GameStop also reiterated its full year diluted earnings per share guidance range of $2.82 to $2.92, representing a 6.4% to 10.2% increase over fiscal 2010. Full year comparable store sales are still expected to range from 3.5% to 5.5%.
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