Under Armour said that its apparel and footwear sales "shot up 29% in the latest quarter, helping drive a surge in revenue," according to Erin McCarthy of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The company "again raised its outlook for sales for the year and now expects revenue" of $3.03B, compared with its prior forecast of $2.98-3B. For the latest quarter, its top line "sharply beat market expectations." UA said that apparel sales grew 26% to $704.6M amid "expanded offerings across training, golf, and outdoor." Footwear sales grew 50% to $121.6M, "led by new products in running and basketball." Accessories sales were up 32% to $84.9M. UA overall "reported a profit" of $89.1M, compared with $72.8M a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were $0.41, up from $0.34. The bulk of UA’s sales "comes from North America, with sales from that region growing 25% in the quarter" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/23). In Baltimore, Lorainne Mirabella reports total sales for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 "topped expectations," rising 30% to $938M. The brand had "net revenues of $723 million in the prior third quarter period and analysts were calling for $925.8 million in sales in the current third quarter." UA's expenses increased a bit to 34% "of net sales, reflecting investments in global growth initiatives and higher incentive compensation expenses" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 10/23).
PRESSURE TO DELIVER: CNBC's Joe Kernen said shares of Under Armour are "under pressure even though the company beat estimates on both revenue and earnings in their latest quarter and it raised its forecast for the year." The apparel sales "did fall short ... of analysts' forecasts, although sales of footwear and accessories were above forecasts" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 10/23). CNBC's Sara Eisen said UA has been "one of those momentum, high-flying stocks," but was trending down to start the morning. It was lower on the earnings "even though profit came in better than expected." CNBC's Simon Hobbs said despite the good numbers from UA, the "expectations were higher" for apparel and footwear. Eisen: "There is so much great expectations built into this stock. It has been one of the best performers … and they deliver" ("Squawk on the Street," CNBC, 10/23). At presstime, shares of UA were trading at $65.37 per share, down 1.03% from the close of business yesterday (THE DAILY).
