Delta Apparel posts 3% sales dip in FY'12

Net sales for the 2012 fiscal year increased approximately 3.0 percent to $489.9 million from $475.2 million in fiscal 2011. Fiscal 2012 includes the second quarter $16.2 million inventory markdown in the Basics segment, which resulted in a net loss for the year of $2.4 million or $0.29 per diluted share. This compares with net income for fiscal 2011 of $17.3 million or $1.98 per diluted share.

Gains in net sales for the year, which occurred in both of Delta’s business segments, were driven primarily by record revenues in The Game, Junkfood, FunTees and Art Gun businesses.

This was somewhat offset by Delta’s catalog business, which continued to feel the effects of cotton price volatility and customer destocking. While net income continued to recover in the 2012 fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough to offset the affects of Delta’s second quarter inventory markdown which was necessitated by unprecedented increases in cotton prices.

For the fiscal 2012 fourth quarter, net sales were $135.4 million, compared with $137.6 million in the 2011 fourth quarter. Net income for the 2012 fourth quarter was $4.8 million or $0.55 per diluted share, compared to $8.5 million or $0.97 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2011.

While cotton prices continued their return to more normal levels in the fourth quarter, some residual affects still remained. Increased retail prices, reflecting the high cost of cotton earlier in the year, hampered sell-through, and department store inventories have not reduced as rapidly as expected. Therefore, replenishment orders were lower than anticipated, primarily in the Company’s Soffe product line.

Branded Segment Review

Branded segment sales for fiscal 2012 advanced to $235.2 million, a 6.1 percent increase over 2011 sales of $221.7 million. The Game registered another strong performance with a sales increase of 26.3 percent over the previous year.

The Junkfood brand followed closely with a 25.8 percent increase, and Art Gun, while currently representing less than $4 million of revenue, grew 207 percent year-over-year. Revenues in our Soffe brand fell off 8.6 percent as a result of customer destocking, which continued through the fourth quarter.

For the 2012 fourth quarter, sales in the Branded segment were $57.9 million versus $60.6 million in the 2011 fourth quarter. The gains experienced by The Game, Junkfood and Art Gun in the 2012 fourth quarter were offset by the previously mentioned softness that continued in the Soffe line.

Basics Segment Review

Net sales for Delta’s Basics Segment were $254.7 million in fiscal 2012, compared with $253.5 million in fiscal 2011. The slight increase was driven by the Company’s FunTees business, which grew 19.7 percent during 2012, offset by a 7.5 percent decrease in the Delta Catalog business during the fiscal year.