VF Corp profit lifted by lower cotton costs and Vans sales gains

NEW YORK, United States - VF Corp, owner of the brands like Wrangler jeans and The North Face outdoor clothing, reported higher quarterly adjusted earnings, helped by lower cotton costs and rising sales of high-margin merchandise.

Revenue rose 3.6 percent to $2.2 billion, with the biggest gains at its North Face and high-margin Vans brands, making up for a decline in its Timberland brand, it said on Friday.

In the fiscal second quarter ended June 29, the company earned $138.2 million, or $1.24 share, compared with $155.3 million, or $1.40 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding expenses from its Timberland acquisition and a gain on the sale of a unit, profit totaled $1.27 per share, up from $1.11 in the same quarter last year. The result was 10 cents better than Wall Street estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

VF raised its profit forecast for 2013 by 10 cents to $10.85 a share before special items, in line with analysts' estimates.