Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2019 was $28,000, or $0.00 per diluted share, including a $0.03 per diluted share net benefit primarily related to the favorable settlement of a software contract termination. This compared to net loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 of $0.2 million, or $0.01 per share.
For the 26-week period ended June 30, 2019, net sales were $486.3 million compared to net sales of $474.1 million in the first 26 weeks of last year. Same store sales increased 2.7% in the first half of fiscal 2019 versus the comparable period last year. Net income for the first 26 weeks of fiscal 2019 was $1.7 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, including the $0.03 per diluted share benefit for the software contract termination and a $0.02 per diluted share charge for the write-off of deferred tax assets, compared to a net loss for the first 26 weeks of fiscal 2018 of $1.6 million, or $0.07 per share, including a $0.01 per share charge for the write-off of deferred tax assets.
The Company’s revolving credit borrowings were $62.4 million as of the end of the fiscal 2019 second quarter, which reflects a reduction in borrowings of $28.2 million, or 31%, versus the same period in the prior year. The Company’s merchandise inventories declined 7.5% on aper-store basis as of the end of the second quarter compared to the prior year period. The resulting working capital improvements in inventory and accounts payable, as well as higher net income, combined to provide $5.6 million in operating cash flow in the fiscal 2019year-to-date period, versus a $21.9 million use of cash in the comparable prior year period.
“We are pleased to achieve our third consecutive quarter of same store sales growth and deliver earnings exceeding the top range of our guidance,” said Steven G. Miller, the Company’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We had a strong finish to the quarter, benefitting from increased traffic in California in June in advance of new ammunition legislation that took effect in July. This allowed us to overcome the negative impact of the Easter holiday shift and a significantly cooler than normal start to summer, which impacted sales of summer products. With our sales performance and continued focus on prudently managing our inventory levels and expense structure, we delivered positive cash flow for the quarter, allowing us to further reduce our borrowings on a year-over-year basis and strengthen our balance sheet.”
Mr. Miller continued, “For the third quarter to date, our sales are running down in the low single-digit range versus the prior year, as the start to the quarter has been impacted by continued softness in summer-related product sales, given the slow start to summer weather, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. We have been comping against relatively strong sales that were driven by favorable weather during the same period last year, but we are encouraged by the trending of a number of core product categories. Looking forward, our sales comparisons will ease over the balance of the quarter and we believe that our merchandise assortment is well positioned to drive upside over the period.”