Wolverine keeps its streak alive
Source: The Grand Rapids Press
By Julia Bauer
The Grand Rapids Press
ROCKFORD — Wolverine World Wide Inc. continued its ascent in both sales and profits, and logged its 20th consecutive record breaking quarter today with the promise of more to come.
For the second quarter ending June 16, the shoe designer and marketer said profits were up 12 percent to $15.5 million compared with $14.2 million a year ago.
Nearly all company brands flourished, according to Blake Krueger, chief executive officer.
“Our strong performance in the quarter was broad-based across our branded footwear groups, with the Merrell brand leading the way with strong double-digit gains in both revenue and earnings,” Krueger said in a news release.
Sales rose 5 percent to $250.3 million, up from $238.5 million last year.
The upbeat quarter pushed executives to upgrade their forecast for earnings per share for the year.
Krueger said yearly profits per share will hit a range of $1.60 to $1.64, an upgrade from the earlier forecast of $1.57 to $1.63.
Second-quarter earnings per share were 28 cents, up 3 cents from last year. Annual sales are expected to hold at the current estimate of $1.2 billion to $1.23 billion.
Both the Heritage Brands Group and Hush Puppies business posted higher sales and profits, although Wolverine laid off nearly one in three of its employees in its local tannery and distribution center for Hush Puppies last quarter.
The shoe marketer’s share price closed Tuesday at $27.73, unchanged, on the New York Stock Exchange. It was down 3 cents in premarket trading this morning.
Send e-mail to the author: jbauer@grpress.com
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