Lacrosse Footwear, Inc. started the year off right with double-digit sales increases in both its Outdoor and Work segments during the first quarter. Net sales totaled $21.4 million for the first quarter, up 13% from $18.9 million for last year’s quarter. The company attributed approximately $1.7 million of the net sales increase to an additional 5 days of business experienced during the first quarter of 2006 compared to the first quarter of 2005, a result of the company's quarterly reporting calendar.

Sales to the Outdoor market were $7.8 million for the first quarter of 2006, up 13% from $6.9 million for the same period in 2005. The year-over-year growth primarily reflects the success of innovative new products and continued penetration into hunting and hiking boot markets. Sales to the Work market were $13.6 million for the first quarter, up 14% from $12.0 million for the same period in 2005.

The company continued to improve its overall gross margin, which was a record 39.2% of net sales for the first quarter of 2006, up from 37.1% in the same period of 2005, an increase of 210 basis points. The continued margin improvement reflects the increased sales of higher-margin products introduced in recent years and a reduction in the rate of sales discounts and allowances.

Net income was $400,000 or 6 cents per diluted share, up 23% from $300,000 or 5 cents per diluted share in 2005.