Shoe Pavilion Inc. said today that net income declined 21.1 percent to $971,000 or $0.10 per diluted share in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 30, on revenues of $11.3 million. Net sales in the period rose 38.6 percent from $29.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. On a comparable store basis, sales at the Sherman Oaks-based footwear retailer rose 8.6 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2005. Shoe Pavilion said its net earnings decrease was due to higher occupancy costs as a result of the rapid rollout of new stores and a reduction in selling margins. For the first quarter of 2007, Shoe Pavilion said it expects comparable sales to increase in the range of 8 percent to 10 percent. Overall, Shoe Pavilion projects first quarter sales to increase in the range of 35 percent to 43 percent to $37 million to $39 million over the comparable period in the prior year. The company expects a net loss between $0.02 and $0.03 per share in the first quarter of 2007 and diluted earnings per share of $0.19 to $0.12 over the prior year period.
