Cautious consumers, wet weather cloud Dick's Sporting outlook

Outdoor enthusiasts spending less on camping and golfing gear due to a sluggish economy and a wetter season hit Dick's Sporting Goods Inc's results, leading the company to slash its earnings forecast for the year.

Shares of the company, which also sells sports footwear and apparel, fell 6 percent to $47.48 by midday.

Consumers have tightened spending amid higher payroll taxes and gasoline prices and a slowing job market. A host of retailers from Macy's Inc to Wal-Mart Stores Inc have reported tepid sales for the latest quarter.

"It's been pretty well chronicled the consumer seems to be a bit sluggish and may have other priorities right now in the short term of where they want to spend their money," Dick's Chief Executive Edward Stack said on a conference call.

Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand said people have been spending on cars and home improvement, while cutting back on discretionary items.

Stack said wet and cool conditions in the most recent quarter also discouraged outdoor activity such as water sports, camping, biking and golf, hurting sales in those businesses.

Dick's now expects full-year earnings of $2.60 to $2.65 per share, well below its prior estimate of $2.84 to $2.86 per share.

The forecast missed the average analyst estimate of $2.83 per share. The company said it expects sales to continue to be weak in the second-half of the year.

Dick's will increase advertising to help pull in customers, CEO Stack said.

The company's net income in the quarter ended August 3 rose to $84.2 million, or 67 cents per share, from $53.7 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 71 cents per share. Net sales rose 6.6 percent to $1.53 billion.

Both numbers were below the average analyst estimate of a profit of 74 cents per share on revenue of $1.57 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Adjusted for an extra week in 2012, the company's same-store sales fell 0.4 percent, missing its forecast of a 2 to 3 percent rise.

Same-store sales at Dick's Sporting Goods stores rose 0.1 percent while those at Golf Galaxy shops fell 6.1 percent. As of August 3, the Company operated 527 Dick'S Sporting Goods stores and 81 Golf Galaxy stores.

(Additional reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)