Authentic Fitness Turns Fourth-Quarter Profit

Authentic Fitness Corp., the Van Nuys maker of Speedo swimwear and fitness apparel and White Stag ski wear, turned a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter and its year ended July 3 after year-earlier losses.

For the latest three months, the company’s profit was $2.54 million, in contrast with a loss of $6.92 million in the same period a year before. Revenue jumped 43%, to $43.4 million from $30.4 million.

Authentic Fitness’ annual profit was $9.78 million, while its revenue rose 31% to $132.9 million. In fiscal 1992, it lost $4.36 million on $101.5 million in revenue.

The company’s results for its 1992 fiscal fourth quarter and year included a net after-tax charge of $8.4 million related to costs from its initial public stock offering in June, 1992. Excluding all one-time charges, Authentic Fitness said its fourth-quarter profit would have been $2.5 million, compared with a $1.5-million profit a year earlier. It attributed the growth to increased sales in its two major product lines and reduced debt.