Retail news :Skechers Q4 Revenues Soars 38 Percent

Skechers USA, Inc. reported revenues jumped 38.2 percent in the fourth quarter, to $395.6 million from $283.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Operating earnings reached $8.0 million, rebounding from a loss of $103.1 million a year ago.

Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $4.0 million compared to a net loss of $57.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Net earnings per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2012 were 8 cents based on 50.3 million weighted average shares outstanding compared to net loss per diluted share of $1.18 based on 48.9 million weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $168.5 million compared to $112.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Gross margin in the fourth quarter 2012 was 42.6 percent versus 39.8 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011. Income tax expense was $3.0 million or 44.7 percent for the fourth quarter of 2012.

“For the 2012 fourth quarter, sales increased more than 39 percent over the same period in 2011 as we saw improvements across all of our revenue channels, including a 72 percent increase in our domestic wholesale business,” began David Weinberg, chief operating officer and chief financial officer. “This strong domestic wholesale growth plus low double-digit positive comp store sales in our company-owned Skechers retail stores and a 30 percent increase in our international business are evidence of the broad acceptance of our new product offerings. With each of our new and established lines driving sales, domestically, both our men's and kids’ divisions experienced double-digit growth, while our women's division saw triple-digit growth.”

Fiscal year 2012 net sales were $1.560 billion compared to net sales of $1.606 billion in 2011. Earnings from operations for 2012 were $22.3 million compared to a loss from operations of $133.8 million in 2011. Net earnings for 2012 were $9.5 million compared to a net loss of $67.5 million in 2011. Net earnings per diluted share for fiscal year 2012 were $0.19 based on 49.9 million weighted average shares outstanding versus a diluted loss per share of $1.39 based on 48.5 million weighted average shares outstanding in the prior year. Gross profit for 2012 was $683.3 million compared to $623.7 million in 2011.

Gross margin for 2012 was 43.8 percent versus 38.8 percent for 2011.

Robert Greenberg, Skechers chief executive officer, commented, “2012 was a remarkable year for Skechers. We grew our existing product divisions, broadened our offering to consumers with several new product lines, established an award-winning performance division and further grew our heritage business. We have taken a more focused approach to growing our product offering, added features and technologies that consumers desire, and supported these efforts with effective marketing. In the fourth quarter alone, we supported our Skechers GOwalk, Daddy’s Money and SKCH+3 product lines with new commercials, as well as commercials for our Bobs from Skechers line with Brooke Burke, and our Relaxed Fit by Skechers styles with three spots featuring sports icons Mark Cuban, Joe Montana and Tommy Lasorda. To date in this quarter, we aired a new Skechers GOrun2 commercial during the Super Bowl, as well as a new Relaxed Fit Joe Montana spot. The recent highlights for our product and marketing are many, including receiving eight awards from noted running and fitness publications for our performance footwear, and elite runner Meb achieving his personal best in Skechers GOrun, becoming the fastest American marathon runner and placing fourth at the 2012 Olympics. Our focus and execution have translated into a strong fourth quarter, and as we continue to grow our businesses around the world, we believe this positive momentum will continue and we will experience a strong first half of 2013.”

Weinberg added, “2012 marked a return to profitability with growth in all of our revenue channels in the fourth quarter. With backlogs up double digits for our combined domestic and international wholesale businesses, and a strong start to the first quarter, we are confident that our growth trend will continue in 2013. We are looking forward to our Fall/Winter 2013 domestic and international trade shows later this month, delivering fresh Spring product around the world, and opening 30 to 35 new Company-owned Skechers retail stores this year. With a cash position of $325.8 million and inventory levels in line with our projected growth, we believe we are well positioned for growth across all our platforms.”