Stella International Holdings Limited (Group), the China-based manufacturer of footwear for Nike, Saucony, Under Armour, Merrell, Timberland, and Ugg, reported that the Group’s unaudited consolidated revenue increased 3.7 percent to $404.2 million, compared to $389.7 million in the year-ago Q3 period.
For the nine months ended September 30 (YTD), the Group’s unaudited consolidated revenue increased 1.7 percent to $1.18 billion, compared to $1.16 billion in the comparative 2024 YTD period.
Stella International Holdings reports in U.S. dollar ($) currency.
Operational Highlights
Footwear Manufacturing shipment volumes in the third quarter reportedly increased 7.8 percent year-over-year and 5.1 percent year-over-year for the YTD period, primarily driven by the Sports segment and by solid demand from new customers, for which Stella is ramping up production this year. The average selling prices (ASPs) in both periods decreased due to a higher proportion of Sports product orders, which have lower ASPs.
Revenue and shipment volume growth for the quarter were also boosted by a low-base effect. This resulted from early shipment of about one million pairs to certain customers in the first half of 2024, which depressed revenue and shipments for the third quarter.
Stella said it has made solid progress in resolving initial challenges linked to the ramp-up and expansion of its production facilities in Indonesia and the Philippines.
“This will serve as a valuable learning experience for the commissioning and ramp-up of our new production facilities, which are scheduled to commence operations in the second half of 2026,” the Group noted in its Q3 report.
The Group said it remains committed to returning additional cash up to $60 million per year to shareholders in 2025 and 2026. This will be done through a combination of share repurchases and special dividends. These are in addition to paying regular dividends with a payout ratio of approximately 70 percent, comprising final and interim dividends.
“We continue to make progress in resolving the efficiency issues observed at some of our manufacturing facilities, while continuing to work closely with key U.S. customers to optimize their production operations and reinforce our long-term strategic relationships with them. We expect a moderate full-year increase in shipment volumes compared to 2024,” commented Group CEO Chi Lo-Jen.
Lawrence Chen, chairman of the Group, said “Stella is close to finalizing its next Three-Year Plan (2026-2028), which reflects the Group’s intention to scale-up total production capacity by an additional 20 million pairs starting from this year.
“We remain focused on acquiring and ramping up new customers, particularly in the Luxury, high-end Fashion and Sports categories,” he continued.
Image/Chart courtesy Stella International Holdings, Ltd.
