SKECHERS USA, Inc. reported net sales for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 were $405.4 million compared to $403.2 million in the third quarter of 2008, and net operating income was $32.4 million, compared to $24.7 million in the third quarter of 2008.

Net earnings for the quarter were $24.5 million versus net earnings of $28.3 million in the third quarter of 2008. Net earnings per diluted share were 52 cents on 47.1 million diluted shares outstanding, versus net earnings per diluted share of 60 cents on 46.8 million diluted shares outstanding for the third quarter of 2008. Income tax expense was $10.2 million during the third quarter of 2009 as compared to a tax benefit of $3.6 million during the same period last year due to an advance pricing agreement reached with the Internal Revenue Service.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, net sales were $1.048 billion compared to net sales of $1.143 billion in the first nine months of 2008. Net earnings for the first nine months were $26.8 million, compared to net earnings of $75.8 million in the first nine months of 2008. Net earnings per diluted share in the first nine months of 2009 were 57 cents per share on 46.6 million diluted shares outstanding, versus $1.62 per share on 46.8 million diluted shares outstanding for the same period last year.

“Our third quarter sales reached a new record high and we saw our operating income increase by over 31% in spite of the continued soft retail environment,” began David Weinberg, chief operating officer. “Our improved performance was driven by sales growth in the high single digits in our international business and double digit improvements in our retail channel. Our margins also improved meaningfully in the third quarter due to less close outs and clean, in-line inventory.”

Gross profit for the third quarter of 2009 was $183.7 million, compared to $171.5 million in the third quarter of 2008. Gross margin was 45.3% for the third quarter of 2009, compared to 42.5% in the third quarter of 2008. Gross profit for the first nine months of 2009 was $431.8 million, or 41.2% of net sales, versus $500.9 million, or 43.8% of net sales, in the first nine months of 2008.

Robert Greenberg, SKECHERS chief executive officer, commented: “The reaction by consumers to our Fall product has been exceptional. We are hearing extremely positive reports and strong feedback from both our domestic and international accounts, and from retail stores across the U.S. and abroad. Our SKECHERS product is fresh, on-target and affordable. We continue to support our brands with multiple print and television campaigns for Fall, including a new kids spot for Luminators, and we have great in-store presence with displays that draw attention to our product.

“As always, we are continuing to look at opportunities to grow our business, including new product initiatives, launching new doors, developing our business in new international markets, and opening additional retail stores. In the third quarter, we launched in one of the most well-known department stores in the world, Harrods; signed international distribution agreements for India and Mexico; and added an additional five SKECHERS retail stores in the U.S. and Canada, and another 14 distributor and joint venture stores around the world. While the global economy continues to be a challenge, we are well positioned from a product, marketing and execution perspective. SKECHERS is a well-recognized brand and a financially strong company, trusted by consumers and our wholesale partners. We believe we will continue to profitably grow in both the near and long term.”

“Since the start of the year, we have carefully managed our expenses and inventory, improved our cash and short-term investments to $276 million – $5.86 per share, and introduced successful new products for men, women and children backed by effective marketing. We believe our ample liquidity, clean inventory and fresh product position us well and will allow us to capitalize on new growth opportunities as they arise,” Mr. Weinberg continued. “While the global economy continues to show signs of weakness, we believe our business is back on track based on our record third quarter sales combined with many positive indicators including healthy domestic and international backlogs, positive retail comps, and strong sell-throughs.