Guitar Center Inc., reporting a disappointing fourth quarter, said today that it expected its earnings to fall below its initial forecasts. Guitar Center reported net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 increased 11.7 percent to $628.5 million, with new stores contributing the lion’s share of that increase. On a same store basis, Westlake Village-based Guitar Center recorded a 1.3 percent increase in the quarter. “We are disappointed that our top line results for the fourth quarter did not meet our previous expectations, primarily due to softer than anticipated sales in our Guitar Center retail and Musician’s Friend divisions,” said Erick Mason, the company’s executive vice president and CFO, in a statement. Officials said they now expect fourth quarter earnings to fall below previous guidance of $34 million to $36 million or $1.14 to $1.20 per share.
