News November 10, 2015
Hanes Achieves Double-Digit Q3 Growth
Hanesbrands (asi/59528) announced its seventh consecutive quarter of record results, with double-digit net sales growth in the third quarter of 2015. Boosted by acquisitions and operating margins improvement, the supplier increased its net sales by 14% for a total of $1.59 billion in the quarter.
Hanes has strengthened its outlook as a result of its Q3 earnings, bumping up its 2015 per-share earnings estimate to $1.66 to $1.68 (compared to previous estimates of $1.61 to $1.66).
Excluding acquisitions and the exit of a retailer in Canada, core sales increased 3% when adjusting for constant currency. The apparel supplier also increased its operating profit by 16% to $251 million. In addition, Hanes used its cash flow to repurchase 10.7 million shares of its stock for approximately $311 million.
“We had another great quarter of double-digit growth that reflects our continued value-creation potential,” said Hanes Chairman and CEO Richard A. Noll. “We again have increased our operating profit and EPS guidance as we continue to drive growth and margin improvement through innovation and acquisition integration. We also reached another milestone in our strategic use of cash flow with the resumption of share buybacks.”
The company’s April acquisition of licensed apparel brand Knights Apparel added net sales of $84 million in the quarter for the company’s Activewear segment. In total, Activewear net sales (which include its Hanes Branded Printwear promotional apparel business) grew 22% and operating profit growth increased by 39%. Excluding acquisitions, activewear sales increased 2%. The company’s Champion brand reached double-digit growth in the quarter.
International sales grew 39.7%, owing to Hanes’ August 2014 acquisition of DBApparel, a European manufacturer of underwear and intimate apparel. In its earnings release, Hanes said the integration of DBApparel is under way, and the supplier plans to begin integrating Knights Apparel in this year’s fourth quarter.