Apparel business perks up at Under Armour

05 May '10

4 min read

Under Armour Inc. announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010. Net revenues increased 15% in the first quarter of 2010 to $229.4 million compared with net revenues of $200.0 million in the first quarter of 2009. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2010 grew 75% to $0.14 on weighted average common shares outstanding of 50.9 million compared with $0.08 per share on weighted average common shares outstanding of 50.4 million in the first quarter of the prior year.

• Net Revenues Increased 15% to $229.4 Million
• Net Income Increased 81% to $7.2 Million; Diluted EPS Increased 75% to $0.14
• Apparel Net Revenues Increased 31% to $172.6 Million
• Direct-to-Consumer Net Revenues Increased 73%
• Cash and Cash Equivalents Increased 153% Year-Over-Year to $166.0 Million at Quarter-End
• Company Raises 2010 Net Revenue Outlook to $965 Million to $985 Million (+13% to +15%) from $945 Million to $960 Million (+10% to +12%)
• Company Raises 2010 EPS Outlook to $1.05 to $1.07 (+14% to +16%) from $1.01 to $1.03 (+10% to +12%)

First quarter apparel net revenues increased 31% to $172.6 million compared with $132.2 million in the same period of the prior year, driven by strong growth in the Men's, Women's, and Youth apparel businesses. Direct-to-Consumer net revenues grew 73% year-over-year during the first quarter driven by strong growth in both the Factory House stores and Web business. Footwear net revenues in the first quarter of 2010 were $43.0 million compared with $56.9 million in the first quarter of 2009. The Company had previously indicated that Running and Training footwear revenues were expected to decline in 2010 compared with 2009.

Kevin Plank, Chairman and CEO of Under Armour, Inc., stated, "We delivered solid top line growth of 15% in the first quarter as we continued to bring the performance story to new athletes across sports, gender and geographies. Our apparel net revenues increased 31% with strength in both the wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer channels, evidence the Brand still has tremendous growth opportunities."

Mr. Plank concluded, "The investments we are making in apparel and Direct-to-Consumer are paying off with strong growth, while we lay the foundation and build the infrastructure for our footwear and international growth engines. With our strong brand presence in the recent Winter Olympics, Winter X Games and the PGA Tour, we continue to move beyond football and baseball fields and take the Under Armour brand message to an ever-growing audience of athletes."

For the first quarter, operating income rose 72% to $13.6 million compared with $7.9 million in the prior year's period. Gross margin for the first quarter of 2010 increased to 46.9% compared with 44.6% in the prior year's quarter primarily due to improved apparel margins and increased sales in the higher margin Direct-to-Consumer channel. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net revenues increased to 41.0% in the first quarter of 2010 compared with 40.6% in the prior year's period as a result of increased investments in product creation and supply chain as well as continued expansion of the Factory House stores.

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