Leatt Corporation, the manufacturer of protective equipment for Moto, MTB, ADV, and a wide range of extreme and high-velocity sports, reported that fourth quarter 2024 revenues increased 14 percent to $11.2 million, compared to $9.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Leatt Corporation, a South Africa entity, reports in the U.S. dollar ($) currency.

“Our team is very encouraged by our return to double-digit revenue growth in the 2024 fourth quarter,” commented company CEO Sean Macdonald. “Total global revenues increased by 14 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, fueled by international sell-through, re-stocking dynamics, and the addition of strong distribution partners in key areas. This is a trend that we believe will continue as re-ordering patterns continue to stabilize.”

He said it was particularly encouraging to see body armor, helmets, and other products, parts, and accessories sales return to growth on a global basis during the fourth quarter.

Body armor revenues increased by 14 percent, helmet revenues were up 41 percent, and other product, parts and accessories sales increased by 9 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2024.

“Sales of our most established category, neck braces, were down 25 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 when compared to the prior year, as inventory is digested at the dealer and distributor level,” Macdonald advised. “Sales of ADV gear, designed for Adventure riding exceeded our expectations, and we look forward to delivering a pipeline of innovative products to the growing ADV market over the next several quarters.”

Gross profit as a percentage of sales continued to improve during the fourth quarter, increasing by 5 percentage points  to 41 percent of sales as domestic trading conditions continue to improve.

“We continued to ship our newer products and inventory levels continued to stabilize,”  the CEO continued. “International distributor sales grew by 24 percent in the fourth quarter as inventory was digested.” 

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $446,459, or a loss of 7 cents per diluted share, as compared to net loss of $1.46 million, or a loss of 23 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Leatt said it continued to meet its working capital needs from cash-on-hand and internally generated cash flow from operations.  At year-end, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $12.4 million, compared to $11.4 million at December 31, 2023, and a current ratio of 5.2:1.

“We continue to build out a strong pipeline of innovative protective gear for the riding community,” said company Founder and Research & Development Lead Dr. Christopher Leatt. “We are very proud of the work of our design and engineering team, which has received yet another honor from their peers and experts in the industry.”

Full-Year 2024 Summary
Total revenues for the full year 2024 were $44.0 million, a 7 percent decrease, compared to revenues of $47.2 million for the full year 2023. This decrease in worldwide revenues was reportedly attributable to a $2.7 million decrease in helmet sales, a $0.31 million decrease in neck brace sales, a $0.12 million decrease in body armor sales, and a $0.06 million decrease in other products, parts, and accessories sales.

Net loss for the full year 2024 was $2.2 million or a loss of 34 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $803,159, or EPS of 13 cents per diluted share, for 2023.

Macdonald said the consumer direct channel continues to display encouraging trends as the Leatt brand continues to build momentum around the world.

“Domestic sales on our consumer-facing channels in the U.S. continued to surge, and Leatt.co.za, our consumer direct platform in South Africa, continued to display strong sales,” he said. “International distributor sales decreased 11.5 percent for the full year as distributors digested elevated inventory levels in the first half of the year.

“Although dealer direct Moto and MTB sales in South Africa continued to grow and MTB dealer sales in the U.S. were strong in 2024, these gains were partially offset by challenging U.S. Moto dealer direct sales at the brick-and-mortar level, resulting in a marginal 0.3 percent, increase in total dealer direct sales,” Macdonald shared.

Balance Sheet Summary
“Cash increased by $1.0 million, to $12.4 million at year-end, with cashflows provided by operations amounting to $2.8 million for the full year, despite current industry-wide conditions, the push to invest in long-term growth, re-investments in working capital, and capital expenditures on digital capabilities and product molds that will fuel future growth.

“Our liquidity continues to improve as our team continues to manage working capital efficiently,” Macdonald said. “Overall, we continue to believe strongly that our strategy of investing in talent, innovative product development and brand momentum will fuel growth going forward.”

Business Outlook
CEO Macdonald said the company is very enthusiastic about the future at Leatt.

“Although there are still some challenging geo-political and economic headwinds globally that could impact demand, inventory continues to be digested, participation remains strong, and ordering patterns continue to improve and have started to filter through to our revenues. These are trends that we believe will continue,” he said.

“As these ordering patterns show encouraging growth, we do expect working capital investments to grow in the coming periods. We are confident that we have sufficiently strong liquidity to fuel this growth,” Macdonald suggested. “Despite some constrained brick-and-mortar Moto dealer sales in the U.S., our team is enthusiastic about the current industry recovery and the latest additions to our team, especially the addition of Rob Ramlose, our new U.S. VP of MOTO and ADV sales, who brings 20 years of strong industry success to the team.”

Macdonald said they also have some “very exciting” new distributor partnerships in the UK, Europe, and emerging markets that will continue to filter through to revenues over the next few quarters.

In addition to body armor, helmets and other products, parts, and accessories sales returning to growth on a global basis during the fourth quarter and margins improving, growth in sales of the ADV apparel exceeded  expectations, and the Leatt team said it remains confident that it has the core competencies and talent to reach the substantial and growing ADV market segment in the upcoming quarters. 

“With a strong portfolio of innovative products in the market and the pipeline, a multi-channel sales organization that is growing and developing, and a robust balance sheet to fuel brand and revenue growth, we remain confident that we are well-positioned for future growth and shareholder value.”

Image courtesy Leatt