Indianapolis-based athletic gear retailer The Finish Line reported a 22 percent jump in earnings for the fourth quarter of 2011. The spike in sales came through a combination of in-store and online purchases.

The earnings, boosted by the holiday season and people anticipating their upcoming New Year’s resolutions, were in line with what Wall Street had predicted for the athletic wear giant. Sales dropped off in January and The Finish Line is already predicting lower first-quarter profits than anticipated, possibly down as much as 13 percent.

Still, for the quarter that ended on March 3, The Finish Line had a reported net income of nearly $42 million. This is up from roughly the $34 million reported in the same quarter one year ago. As a result, the retailer adjusted its cost per share from 63 cents to 81 cents.   

Experts measure sales at stores that have been open for at least one year when determining the actual rise or fall in revenue for a company. In the case of The Finish Line, sales in stores that had been open for at least one year jumped 11 percent. Digital sales fared even better, rising 38 percent for the year.

Total revenue for the fiscal year 2012 was $1.37 billion, which was up from $1.23 billion in the year before. The actual profit that the company earned came in at $84.8 million which was up from almost $69 million the year before.

Representatives for The Finish Line have already said that earnings per share for the upcoming quarter may be down as low as 30 percent based on shifts in the promotional schedule and planned investments. Analysts from FactSet, an independent stock analysis company, believe that shares will come out around 36 cents per share for the current quarter.

The Finish Line took shape in 1976 when three Indianapolis runners and friends came up with the concept of providing athletic footwear to their community. In 1986, the franchise was officially named and grew to 220 stores nationwide by 1996. Today The Finish Line has over 600 stores in 47 states and a full selection of products and shipping options on its Web site.