Wolverine World Wide,
Inc. reported record revenue and earnings for its first
quarter of 2004.
The Company achieved record revenue for the first quarter of 2004 totaling
$224.9 million, a 17.4 percent increase over first quarter 2003 revenue of
$191.5 million. Earnings per share during the first quarter of 2004 grew to
$0.30 per share compared to $0.18 per share reported for the same quarter last
year, an increase of 66.7 percent.
“All of our major branded groups contributed to the Company's record
profit increase for the first quarter,” stated Timothy J. O'Donovan, the
Company's President and CEO. “Our strong performance in the quarter was
driven by the Company's concentrated efforts to capitalize on the global
strength of our brand portfolio and strong consumer enthusiasm for the
Company's products. Merrell continued to be our leading sales and profit
driver, posting double-digit sales gains across all geographic regions with
the strongest gains in Europe. Earnings in the quarter benefited by $.04 per
share from the 2003 realignment of our slipper business and by $.01 per share
from Sebago's spring initiatives.
“Based on the addition of Sebago and our year-end backlog position, we
anticipated strong revenue gains in the first half of the year. Our first
quarter sales accelerated with a mid-teen increase in at-once orders, a 3.4
percent positive impact from foreign currency and $9.8 million of revenue
contribution from our recently acquired Sebago business.”
“In addition to strong sales growth, we also realized significant gross
margin improvement during the quarter,” reported the Company's CFO, Stephen L.
Gulis Jr. “Gross margin during the first quarter of 2004 grew to 38.0
percent, a 190 basis point improvement over first quarter 2003. This
improvement resulted from global synergies in the Merrell business,
repositioning efforts in the global Hush Puppies wholesale businesses and the
impact of the 2003 slipper business realignment.
“Our balance sheet metrics continued to improve with first quarter 2004
accounts receivable up only 1.8 percent and inventory levels relatively flat
on a 17.4 percent increase in revenue over the same quarter last year.
Additionally, the Company ended the first quarter of 2004 in a strong cash
position with $36.8 million on hand.”
O'Donovan concluded, “Looking ahead, our order backlog was up
approximately 12 percent at the close of the first quarter of 2004 compared to
the prior year. This solid order backlog continues to be achieved across
multiple brands. On the strength of 2004's first quarter, our order backlog
and anticipated re-order business for the remainder of the year, we are
increasing the Company's 2004 estimates. We expect revenue to range from $960
million to $980 million, up from our previous estimate of $945 to $965
million, and expect earnings per share to range from $1.44 to $1.52, up from
our previous estimate of $1.37 to $1.43.”
WOLVERINE WORLD WIDE, INC.CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
($000's, except share and per share data)12 Weeks Ended
March 27, March 22,
2004 2003Revenue $224,871 $191,485
Cost of products sold 139,430 122,289Gross profit 85,441 69,196
Selling and administrative expenses 66,337 56,883Operating profit 19,104 12,313
Other expense 1,010 1,292Earnings before income taxes and
minority interest 18,094 11,021
Income taxes 5,778 3,581Earnings before minority interest 12,316 7,440
Minority interest (17) (26)Net earnings $12,299 $7,414
Diluted earnings per share $.30 $.18
