Hibbett Sports 4th-quarter profit above Street estimates

Sportswear and shoes retailer Hibbett Sports Inc (HIBB.O) posted a quarterly profit above Wall Street expectations for the sixth time in a row, helped by improved gross margins.

Net income for the fourth quarter ended January 28 was $15.8 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with $12.5 million, or 44 cents a share, a year ago.

Hibbett, which sells sporting goods, apparel and footwear under several well-known labels like Nike (NKE.N), Adidas AG (ADSGn.DE), Reebok and Under Armour Inc (UA.N), said revenue rose 10 percent to $190.7 million.

Analysts, on average, had expected the company to earn 56 cents a share, on revenue of $192.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Gross margins rose to 35.7 percent from 34.9 percent last year.

For 2012, the company expects to earn $2.35 to $2.55 per share, while analysts were expecting $2.47 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of Birmingham, Alabama-based Hibbett closed at $51.64 on Thursday on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)