Sport-Haley, Inc. saw the addition of the Top Flite business help add to its top line in the companys fiscal first quarter, while its established Ben Hogan and Sport Haley brands both saw slight downturns. Nevertheless, the company was able to trim its quarterly loss.
Net sales for the quarter totaled $4.7 million, an increase of 17% from net sales of $4.1 million for the comparable period in the prior fiscal year. The comparative increase was attributed to sales of branded apparel. Net sales of Sport Haley apparel collections were $1.3 million, down slightly from $1.5 million last year. Net sales of Ben Hogan apparel collections were $2.0 million, down from $2.3 million last year, while net sales of Top-Flite branded apparel were $1.2 million for the quarter, comprised of $1.0 million in sales to Wal-Mart and sales of $185,000 to other markets for the disposition of the companys remaining branded apparel inventories.
Gross margin for the Sport Haley and Ben Hogan lines was 34% for Q1, up 100 basis points from 33% in the year-ago period. Gross margin for Top-Flite branded apparel was 25%, a “substantial improvement” from recent prior periods. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses with regard to the fashion apparel segment rose 200 basis points to 45% from 43% in the year-ago period. SG&A expenses in the branded apparel segment were 12% for the quarter.
The company managed to fight off the expenses increase with its margin and sales improvements, but only enough to slim the quarterly net loss, not enough to flip it to a profit. Net loss for the quarter was $397,000, shrinking 25% from a net loss of $528,000 for the same period in the prior fiscal year. In diluted share terms, the loss was 14 cents in this years quarter, while 20 cents for the year-ago.