Leatt Corp.’s New Cycling Helmets Spur Q1 Growth

Leatt Corporation (OTCQB: LEAT) reported initial shipments of its helmets for high-velocity bicycling and BMX to international customers helped spur a 20 percent increase in sales in the first quarter ended March 31.

The South African maker of protective gear for high velocity sports, including motocross and increasingly BMX and mountain biking, reported revenues of $4.8 million and net income of $113,000, or $0.02 per share, compared with revenues of $4.0 million and net income of $54,000, or $0.01 per share, for the 2015 first quarter.

“We had an excellent 2016 first quarter, highlighted by solid financial results and the successful launch of our new carbon and composite shelled DBX bicycle helmet at the Subaru Sea Otter 2016 Classic in Monterey, California,” said CEO Sean Macdonald. “Revenue increased by 20 percent, and net income doubled in the first quarter, which has typically been our weakest quarter. All our new products continued to soar, although neck braces saw a slight decline.”

Macdonald said that helmet sales accounted for $809,000, or 17 percent of revenues, for the first quarter of 2016.  The growth reflected both sales of GPX 5.5 Composite and GPX 6.5 Carbon motocross helmets that started shipping in the fourth quarter of 2015 and initial shipments of the DBX 6.0 Carbon and DBX 5.0 composite – pictured here – bicycling helmets to international customers, which began during the 2016 first quarter.

The balance of growth came from sales of body armor, where sales grew 9 percent to $2.19 million, or 45 percent of revenue. Sales of the company’s flagship knee brace fell 11.2 percent to $1.59 million, or 33 percent of revenue. Leatt’s body armor and knee brace are used primarily by motocross riders.

Body Armor sales accounted for $2.19 million and $2.01 million, or 45 percent and 50 percent of revenues for the quarters ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

“We are very pleased with the initial sales of our innovative line of helmets and believe that they will continue to gain traction with consumers in 2016,” said MacDonald. “They are a potentially game-changing development for the company that we believe will become as important to the company as our original neck brace.”

The company previously announced that it was actively developing and expanding its dealer network.

“Sales through our B2B portal for dealers in the U.S. is beginning to pick up speed as dealers can easily place orders online.  This allows our sales managers to get out of the office and meet dealers and sales representatives face-to face, build relationships and offer technical support.  It also ensures that the Leatt brand is properly represented in the marketplace,” added Macdonald.