Weyco Group Inc announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.
Net earnings increased 3.2% to $5,334,000, up from $5,168,000 during the same quarter in 2006. Diluted earnings per share increased to $.45 per share in 2007 from $.43 per share in 2006, an increase of 4.7%. Net sales for the quarter were $58,163,000 compared with $56,085,000 in 2006, an increase of 3.7%.
Net sales in the wholesale division, which include wholesale sales and licensing revenues, were $51,311,000 for the third quarter of 2007 compared with $49,388,000 in 2006. Wholesale sales were $50,503,000 in 2007, up 4.2% from $48,472,000 in 2006.
Licensing revenues in 2007 were $807,000 compared with $916,000 in 2006. Sales of the Company's Stacy Adams and Florsheim brands were up 8.5% and 13.9%, respectively, for the quarter, while sales of the Company's Nunn Bush brand were down 7.6%.
The increase in overall wholesale and Florsheim sales for the quarter, and reduction in licensing revenues, was due primarily to sales of product in Canada, which had previously been distributed by a third party licensee. The Company began distributing its Florsheim brand in Canada on January 1, 2007.
Total Florsheim sales in Canada were $2.0 million for the quarter and $4.3 million for the year. The Company expects Florsheim Canadian sales to be $5.5 - 6 million in 2007. Without the effect of sales of Florsheim in Canada, wholesale sales were flat.
Despite the continued struggles of independent shoe and apparel retailers, Stacy Adams was able to generate an increase this quarter in sales through other trade channels.
Approximately half of the decrease in Nunn Bush sales this quarter was due to soft sales in Canada, with the other part due to the difficult retail environment in the US.
Retail sales were up 2.3% for the quarter to $6,852,000, from $6,697,000 in 2006, with same store sales flat. The Company now operates 37 retail stores in the United States as compared with 34 in 2006.
Operating earnings were $7,919,000, as compared with $7,855,000 in 2006. Operating earnings as a percent of net sales were 13.6% in 2007, as compared with 14.0% in 2006.
"We feel our flat third quarter sales performance reflected the overall challenges of the current retail environment for men's footwear," stated Tom Florsheim, Jr. Chairman and CEO of Weyco Group.
Weyco Group will host a conference call on Wednesday, October 31, 2007, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the third quarter financial results in more detail. |