Circuit City Earnings Rise 52% in 4th Quarter

Circuit City Group’s earnings climbed 52% in its fiscal fourth quarter to $87 million, or 86 cents a share, as strong demand for digital videodisc players, satellite TV dishes and wireless telephones helped boost sales 17% to $3.03 billion. Sales at Circuit City stores open at least a year grew 10%. The gains in electronics offset losses from the company’s CarMax auto retailing unit and from its start-up movie-rental technology called Digital Video Express. CarMax had a loss of $2.3 million, or 10 cents a share, for the period ended Feb. 28, compared with a loss of $5 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Shares of Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City fell $1.19 to close at $73.88 on the NYSE. Shares of CarMax, which is 77% owned by Circuit City, rose 6 cents to $3.94, also on the NYSE.