Good Guys Warns It Might Post Loss for 3rd Quarter and Year

SAN FRANCISCO — Good Guys Inc., a major specialty retailer of consumer entertainment electronics, said Monday it expected a loss for the fiscal third quarter.

It also said in a prepared statement that it no longer expected to be profitable in fiscal 2000.

The company said that for the three months ended June 30 it expected the loss to be substantially less than the $8.1 million it lost in the year-ago period. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are expected to be positive, it said.

Sales for the third quarter fell 6.9% to $195.9 million from $210.5 million a year ago, it said.

“While we have made tremendous progress over the past nine months and the third quarter in particular, we have adjusted our expectations for the year to fully account for the initial disruption of the in-store reorganization and the impact of a more promotional sales effort,” Chairman Ronald Unkefer said in a prepared statement.

Good Guys expected the changes made during March and April to lead to profitability in fiscal 2001 “and bolster our prospects for sustainable, long-term profitability in the years that follow,” he said.

The company will report third-quarter results July 25.

During the quarter, Good Guys eliminated a stand-alone electronics department and its entry-level staff by redistributing most of the products to audio, video and mobile electronics departments, the company said.

The reorganization of the company’s operations and merchandise categories is meant to reduce costs by about $9 million annually, it said.

Shares fell 41 cents Monday to close at $3.23 on Nasdaq.