Outdoor financials: Deckers' Q1 profit climbs on sales of Uggs, plus Columbia Sportswear, LaCrosse, Hanesbrands, Wolverine, Jarden

Deckers’ Q1 profit climbs on sales of Uggs

First-quarter sales for Deckers Outdoor (Nasdaq: DECK) were up 38 percent and its profit rose 9 percent boosted by a jump in sales of Ugg boots and shoes.

For the three months ended March 31, the company posted earnings of $12.3 million, or $0.93 cents per share, compared to a previous year profit of $11.3 million, or $0.86 per share.

Sales climbed 38 percent to $134.2 million, from $97.5 million last year.

For the first quarter, Ugg net sales increased 66.9 percent to $91.4 million compared to $54.8 million for the same period last year. Teva net sales dropped 5.7 percent to $35.6 million compared to last year’s $37.7 million hit by lower pre-booked orders scheduled for delivery in the first quarter compared with the year ago period and to a lesser extent the bankruptcies of three wholesale accounts.

Simple’s net sales decreased 13.0 percent to $4.4 million compared to $5.1 million for the same period last year — negatively impacted by a higher than normal rate of order cancellations due to the general retail environment combined with lower reorders and the loss of international sales. Combined net sales of the company’s other brands, Tsubo and Ahnu, were $2.9 million for the first quarter of 2009.

Sales for the company’s eCommerce business, which are included in the brand sales numbers, increased 3.5 percent to $16.2 million for the first quarter compared to $15.6 million for the same period a year ago.

Sales for the retail store business, which are included in the brand sales numbers, increased 161.9 percent to $13.9 million for the first quarter compared to $5.3 million for the same period a year ago.

The company’s gross profit margin for the first quarter was 43.9 percent compared to 47.3 percent for the first quarter of last year.

For the full-year, Deckers said it now expects its full-year earnings per share to be flat to up slightly from the previous year’s adjusted earnings per share of $7.27. Previously, the company said it expected its per-share profit to be flat to slightly below that figure.

The company also narrowed its revenue forecasts based on Ugg’s better first-quarter results. It now expects full-year revenue to climb between 7 percent and 9 percent compared with a prior forecast of 6 percent to 9 percent growth.

For the second quarter, Decker expects to lose between $0.10 and $0.15 per share due to a shift in marketing expenses. Revenue, however, is forecast to grow 10 percent.

Columbia’s Q1 profit plummets by two-thirds

Columbia Sportswear (Nasdaq: COLM) reported a nearly two-thirds drop in first-quarter profit as sales declined 9 percent. Its brand portfolio includes Columbia Sportswear, Mountain Hardwear, Sorel, Montrail and Pacific Trail.

For the quarter ended March 31, the company earned $6.9 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, compared with net income of $19.9 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, for the same period of 2008.

Sales slid to $271.9 million from $297.4 million last year.

“We managed our business well during the first quarter, against a very challenging retail environment in the U.S., Europe and Canada, and the headwinds created by a stronger U.S. dollar,” said Tim Boyle, Columbia’s president and CEO, in a statement.

The company said the 9 percent decrease in first-quarter net sales consisted of:

• a 24 percent decline in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA) to $49.8 million, including an 8 percent negative effect from changes in foreign currency exchange rates;

• a 26 percent decline in Canada to $19.8 million, including an 18 percent negative effect from foreign currency exchange rates; and

• a 6 percent decline in the Latin America and Asia Pacific region to $46.1 million, including a 4 percent negative effect from foreign currency exchange rates.

First quarter 2009 U.S. net sales of $156.3 million were essentially equal to net sales in the first quarter of 2008.

Compared with the first quarter of 2008, first quarter 2009 sportswear net sales decreased 14 percent to $138.2 million and footwear net sales decreased 22 percent to $40.0 million. These decreases were partially offset by a 10 percent increase in outerwear net sales to $76.8 million and a 10 percent increase in accessories and equipment net sales to $17.0 million.

Columbia brand net sales totaled $241.6 million, a decrease of 10 percent compared with the first quarter of 2008. Mountain Hardwear brand net sales increased 6 percent to $23.2 million. Net sales of Sorel, Montrail and Pacific Trail brand products were insignificant during the first quarter of both years.

The company ended the first quarter with $299.8 million in cash and short-term investments, compared with $278.1 million at March 31, 2008. Inventories declined 6 percent compared with March 31, 2008, to $223.7 million, and were 13 percent lower than at Dec. 31, 2008.

As of March 31, fall 2009 wholesale backlog was $608.0 million, 15 percent lower than fall 2008 wholesale backlog of $714.4 million, including a 4 percent negative effect from changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Consolidated wholesale backlog, which includes both global spring and fall orders, was $721.6 million, 15 percent lower than 2008 consolidated wholesale backlog of $849.8 million, including a 4 percent negative effect from changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Looking ahead, Columbia Sportswear said its second-quarter loss will widen year-over-year and sales will fall by 20 percent to 25 percent from the prior-year period’s $213.1 million in revenue.

Also, its board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share payable on May 28 to shareholders of record as of May 14.

Hanesbrands posts Q1 loss, plans to cut 250 jobs

Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI), parent of Duofold, said lower consumer spending and restructuring costs led to a loss in its first quarter. The also said it will layoff 250 management staff to cut costs.

For the quarter ended April 4, the company’s loss was $19.3 million, or $0.20 per share, compared with a profit of $36 million, or $0.38 per share a year earlier. The company earned $0.03 per share excluding restructuring costs and other expenses.

Revenue fell 13.2 percent to $857.8 million from $987.8 million a year earlier.

The company expects to incur restructuring and related charges, including severance costs, of about $15 million primarily in the second quarter.

In January, the company cut 310 jobs. As of April 15, the company had about 45,000 employees.

The company has been shifting its manufacturing activity from the United States to Asia to reduce costs — a move that has led to layoffs and closure of plants in North America over the past few months. It will start production at its new Nanjing, China, plant in October.

LaCrosse posts first-quarter loss

LaCrosse Footwear (Nasdaq: BOOT) reported its first quarterly loss since 2004 hammered by a challenging near-term retail environment and investments, including its new Midwest distribution center.

For the quarter ended March 28, its net loss was $0.7 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to net income of $0.8 million or $0.12 per diluted share, last year.

First-quarter net sales were $25.9 million, up 5 percent from 2008’s $24.7 million.

Sales to the outdoor market were $6.9 million for the first quarter of 2009, up slightly from $6.8 million for the same period of 2008. Despite continued softness in the overall retail environment, the company said this is the first quarterly increase in outdoor sales since the third quarter of 2007 helped by its cold weather product offerings.

Sales to the work market were $19.0 million for the first quarter of 2009, up 6 percent from $17.9 million for the same period of 2008.

Gross margins were 37.9 percent of net sales, compared to 40.7 percent in the same period of 2008. LaCrosse’s operating expenses were $10.9 million in the first quarter of 2009, up $1.9 million from the first quarter of 2008.

The company said it continued to maintain a strong balance sheet. At the end of the first quarter of 2009, LaCrosse had cash and cash equivalents of $12.1 million, up from $10.3 million at the end of the first quarter of 2008, despite cash outlays during the past 12 months of $3.1 million in dividends to its shareholders and $3.2 million for the inventories and operations of its former European distributor.

Based on the company’s financial position, its board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share of common stock. The second quarter dividend will be paid on June 18 to shareholders of record on May 22.

Wolverine declares quarterly dividend

Wolverine World Wide (NYSE: WWW), parent of Merrell, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.11 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on Aug. 3 to stockholders of record on July 1. The company said the dividend is equal to the last quarterly dividend and reflects an indicated annual dividend of $0.44 per share.

Jarden to offer $250 million in notes; public offering closes

Jarden (NYSE: JAH) said it will offer $250 million in notes and use proceeds to pay off part of its senior credit facility term loans. The company added that the senior unsecured notes would be guaranteed by some of Jarden’s domestic subsidiaries and would mature in 2016.

In other company news, the company said its public offering of 12 million shares of common stock at $17.50 per share has closed. The net proceeds are approximately $203 million. Jarden said it intends to use the proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes, including the reduction of outstanding debt. Barclays Capital served as sole underwriter for the offering.

Jarden’s outdoor brands include Coleman, K2, Marmot and others.

–Compiled by Wendy Geister

For more information about any public company on this page or its financial reports, as well as to view stock prices updated every 15 minutes, visit the SNEWS® Stock Market Updates. Click on: www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/cgi-bin/snews/stock_report.html.