Guitar Center said today that it would miss its earlier guidance for earnings and sales in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2006. Guitar Center Inc. said it now expects net income in the range of $10.6 million to $11.3 million or $0.36 to $0.38 per share for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Sales for the same period are expected to be about $473 million. The company’s previous guidance anticipated net income at the low end of the $12 million to $13.8 million range or $0.40 to $0.46 per share. Guitar Center had earlier anticipated that consolidated net sales would be in the range of $489 million to $501 million. The Westlake Village-based music retailer called sales in the first two months of the quarter “uneven” and noted that the environment improved considerably in the last month of the quarter. Shares in Guitar Center fell dramatically on the news. Shares plummeted $4.28 or 9.4 percent in late trading to $41.35.
