Authentic Fitness Reports 23% Hike in Earnings

Authentic Fitness Corp., a Van Nuys apparel maker, reported a 23% jump in its second-quarter earnings. The company attributed the improved performance to growth of its swimwear and active wear lines and a strong Christmas sales season at its chain of retail stores.

In the three months ended Dec. 30, Authentic Fitness earned $5.49 million, while revenue rose 37% to $77.3 million. A year earlier, it had net income of $4.45 million on $56.3 million in revenue.

For the recent six-month period, the company had a profit of $7.66 million, up 17% from $6.52 million in net income a year before. Its revenue increased 28%, to $120.2 million from $93.9 million.

Authentic Fitness markets swimwear and fitness apparel under the Speedo, Oscar de la Renta, Catalina, Cole of California and Anne Cole brand names. It also operates 91 Speedo Authentic Fitness retail stores.