Leatt Corporation reported it earned a profit in the first quarter for the first time in six year as sales of its protective gear for motorsports and mountain biking enthusiasts pushed up sales 14 percent to $4.0 million compared to the first quarter of 2014.
The company reported sales of its Leatt C Frame Knee Brace boosted sales of the body armor category by 45% year-to-year. Earnings reached $54,105, or $0.01 per share, versus a loss of $340,886, or a $0.07 loss per share in the year-earlier period.
“The first-quarter growth and profit continues the upward growth trend reported over the past few quarters,” said Leatt CEO, Sean Macdonald. “And while the first quarter has historically been our weakest quarter, we were able to achieve a modest profit in the first quarter for the first time in 6 years. We are pleased with the enthusiastic acceptance of our new C Frame Knee Brace, and by the successful registration with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of our knee and shoulder brace as Class 1 Medical Devices in the USA. Not only is revenue increasing overall, but growth is continuing to build for our higher margin products.”
In spite of higher revenues and a modest increase in R&D expense, the company kept a careful watch on expenses resulting in a 5.3% decline in overall operating expenses during the quarter, aided by a decline in litigation expenses year-to-year.
Cash and equivalents grew to $893,165 at March 31, 2015, compared to $724,707 at December 31, 2014. Current liabilities dropped steeply, resulting in a current ratio of 4.3:1. There were no long-term liabilities as of March 31, 2015, and stockholders' equity was $7.2 million.
“We are proud of these first fruits of our product expansion strategy, which we believe are significant improvements on existing products in the market,” added Dr. Christopher James Leatt, Leatt's Head of Research and Development. “We are particularly proud of our innovative, lightweight and maximally-ventilated DBX and GPX helmets which we expect will be game-changers for the company and its customers as they launch us, for the first time, into the arena of helmeted sports. We believe that our helmet design will help protect against concussion more effectively than other designs currently available on the market. We intend our helmets to follow in the footsteps of our neck braces to become the gold standard for sport safety worldwide.”
