Revenue during the quarter went down marginally by 0.43 percent to $557.45 million from $559.84 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 503 basis points over the previous year period to 29.09 percent. Total expenses were 96.35 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 97.99 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 163 basis points in operating margin to 3.65 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $20.32 million, compared with $11.26 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted operating income for the quarter stood at $33.45 million compared to $58.12 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted operating margin contracted 438 basis points in the quarter to 6 percent from 10.38 percent in the last year period.

"Our fourth quarter earnings performance represented a disappointing finish to a challenging year financially for our company," said Sam Sato, chief executive officer of Finish Line. "As elements of our footwear offering did not resonate with our customers as we expected and the overall retail environment in February became increasingly difficult, we made the decision to get more aggressive on pricing to be competitive and clear slow moving product. While this allowed us to end fiscal 2017 with clean inventory levels, it put significant pressure on fourth quarter product margins. We know we must improve the execution of our merchandise strategies to drive increased full price selling and fuel sustained comparable sales growth. At the same time, we are confident that the numerous operational improvements we made throughout the past year have created a more efficient company with a stronger foundation to support enhanced profitability and increased shareholder value over the long-term."

For financial year 2018, The Finish Line, Inc. forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.12 to $1.23.