Outdoor financials: LaCrosse’s Q4 earnings up 71 percent, plus Dick’s

LaCrosse’s Q4 earnings up 71 percent

For the fourth quarter, LaCrosse Footwear (Nasdaq: BOOT), parent of Danner, said its revenue jumped 23 percent on improved business conditions.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, net sales were $52.1 million versus $42.5 million in the same period in 2009.

Net income was $4.0 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, up 71 percent from $2.3 million or $0.36 per diluted share, the year before.

For the full year 2010, net sales were $150.5 million, up 8 percent from $139.2 million in 2009. Net income was $6.9 million, or $1.04 per diluted share, up 25 percent from $5.5 million, or $0.86 per diluted share, in 2009.

Sales to the outdoor market were $20.9 million for the fourth quarter and $55.8 million for FY 2010, up 21 percent and 9 percent, respectively, from the same periods of 2009. The company said the sales increase reflected stronger demand in the hunting and rugged outdoor categories.

Sales to the work market were $31.2 million for the fourth quarter and $94.7 million for FY 2010, up 24 percent and 7 percent, respectively, from the same periods of 2009.

Gross margins were 39.3 percent of net sales for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2010, up from 38.4 percent and 38.9 percent, respectively, in the same periods of 2009. The year-over-year increase in gross margins primarily reflects a reduction in the volume of close-out sales, the company said.

Also, the board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share of common stock to be paid on March 18 to shareholders of record on Feb. 22.

Dick’s settles class action lawsuits

Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) said it has agreed to pay up to $15 million to settle various class action lawsuits that had alleged a failure to pay overtime and other promised wages.

The settlement will result in a pretax charge of about $15 million in the fourth quarter, it said in a filing with the SEC.

The settlement, subject to the approval from a federal court in New York, covers wage and hour claims under the laws of 36 states, it added. The settlement will also include interest and taxes.

The company filed to settle Tamara Barrus et al. vs. Dick’s Sporting Goods and 22 related wage and hour class action lawsuits pending against the company and five individual defendants.

–Compiled by Wendy Geister

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