Rocky Brands sees profit surge 123%

Rocky Brands on Tuesday reported an increase of 123% for its third-quarter earnings, signalling exceptional margins as the reason behind the profit uptick.

For the three-months ending September 30, net income reached $5 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, compared to to $2.2 million, or $0.30 per share, last year.

Gross margin increased a whopping 14.8% to $22.4 million, or 34% of sales, said the Nelsonville, Ohio-based company. Revenues gained 1.9%.

“We delivered another quarter of solid year-over-year improvements highlighted by strong gains in gross margin and operating profit," said Jason Brooks, President and Chief Executive Officer.

"The strategic initiatives that we’ve been executing over the past 12-months continued to drive sales growth in our two highest margin channels – wholesale and retail."

Wholesale sales for the third quarter increased 2.1% to $47 million, while retail lifted 7.6% to $11.9 million.

For the nine-month period to September 30, net income hit $10.9 million, or $1.47 per diluted share, more than doubling on last year.

Revenues dropped slightly, however, to $185.5 million form $186.2 million last year.

Looking ahead, Rocky Brands' CEO remained optimistic.

"With our portfolio of authentic brands, internal manufacturing capabilities, and differentiated direct business-to-business model, we are confident that the company is well positioned to achieve profitable growth on an annual basis and generate increased shareholder value over the long-term," said Brooks.

Rocky Brands is an outdoorwear and technical footwear and apparel group. It operates the Rocky, Georgia Boot and Durango brands, among others.

Rocky Brands sees profit surge 123%

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