Delta Apparel, Inc. has updated its previously announced preliminary results for the 2019 fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 28, 2019.
DLA now anticipates overall net sales for the fourth quarter of its 2019 fiscal year to be up 16.2 percent to $108.0 million from $92.9 million in the prior-year period. This compares to the company’s preliminary expectation for overall net sales of $104 million to $106 million for the fourth quarter. The company also expects to report fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share within a range of 46 cents to 49 cents compared to EPS of 43 cents in the prior-year period.
For the full year, the company expects overall net sales of $431.7 million, exceeding its prior preliminary expectation of $428 million to $430 million and well above overall net sales of $395.5 million in the prior year. The company also expects to report full-year diluted EPS within a range of $1.13 to $1.16 per share. Adjusting for the 31 cents per diluted share expense, the company took in its first fiscal quarter related to litigation surrounding a 2016 bankruptcy of a significant customer and the 10 cents per diluted share benefit arising in the company’s third-quarter from a favorable settlement of a commercial litigation matter, the adjusted earnings are expected to be in the range of $1.34 to $1.37 per diluted share.
Robert W. Humphreys, Delta Apparel, Inc.’s chairman and CEO, commented, “We are extremely pleased to see our sales come in above expectations and our strong overall performance for both the quarter and full-year. We achieved positive top-line growth during the quarter across all of our businesses, and both of our segments closed out the year with sales growth. Our gross margins expanded sequentially through the year, and we leveraged our growth to deliver solid profitability for our shareholders.”
Mr. Humphreys added, “We see a variety of strategic growth opportunities across our business and our team remains focused on the initiatives we have in place to take advantage of them. In addition, to the accelerating momentum in our DTG2Go and Salt Life businesses, we are excited to announce our plans to launch a full-service, vertical distributor model in our Activewear business in 2020. This will include a broad offering of nationally-recognized branded products comprised of polos, outerwear, headwear, and accessories. We believe this additional go-to-market strategy can become a game-changer for us and for our shareholders as it grows over time, and we look forward to discussing it in more detail on our earnings call later this month.”
Final and complete financial results for the fiscal year 2019 fourth quarter and full-year ended September 28, 2019, will be released after the market close on November 21, 2019.
