Planet Fitness Inc. reported Thursday fourth-quarter profit that more than doubled and beat expectations, and provided an upbeat full-year outlook, as a strong December national sale helped drive “record membership growth.” The gym operator’s stock PLNT was still inactive in premarket trading. Net income rose to $33.7 million, or 40 cents a share, from $5.7 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share increased to 53 cents from 25 cents, and topped the FactSet consensus of 47 cents. Revenue grew 53.2% to $381.3 million, above the FactSet consensus of $271.5 million. Operating costs rose more than revenue, up 40.4% to $216.9 million, with store operations costs up 101.3% to $57.6 million, while national advertising fund expense fell 10.8% to $15.7 million. For 2023, the company expects adjusted EPS growth of 33% to 36%, while the current FactSet EPS consensus of $2.06 implies 25.6% growth. The company also expects 2023 revenue growth of 13% to 14%, while the FactSet revenue consensus of $1.06 billion implies 13.6% growth. “Today more than 6 percent of all Americans over the age of 15 are Planet Fitness members. But we’re not stopping there,” said Chief Executive Chris Rondeau. “We believe that in the future we can double our membership given our historic ability to do so and the increasing penetration we’ve experienced with each successive generation.” The stock has gained 4.8% over the past three months while the S&P 500 SPX has slipped 0.9%.
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