2 Shoe Marketing Firms Raise Quarterly Forecasts
Shares of Vans Inc. and Deckers Outdoor Corp. rose Wednesday after the two Southern California-based casual shoe marketers raised their earnings forecasts.
Strong holiday sales of its skateboarding and other sports-related shoes prompted Vans, of Santa Fe Springs, to boost its third-quarter earnings forecast to 21 cents to 23 cents a share. The company, which is shedding its skate-park business to focus more on its retail operations, had previously forecast earnings of 17 cents to 19 cents a share.
Excluding costs associated with the closing of skate parks, Vans sees third-quarter earnings of 24 cents to 26 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected Vans to report third-quarter earnings, excluding one-time items, of 22 cents a share.
In the same period a year ago, Vans posted a net loss of $9.2 million, or 51 cents a share, on $82.1 million in revenue. Excluding one-time items, the company earned 3 cents a share.
Vans stock surged 92 cents, or nearly 9%, to close at $11.75 on Nasdaq.
Separately, Goleta-based Deckers Outdoor said 2004 earnings would top Wall Street expectations thanks to growing demand for its sheepskin Ugg boots, which have broken out beyond surf and ski chic to become one of the hottest fashion items over the last year.
Shares of Deckers jumped 6% in after-hours trading in response to the stronger outlook, which was released after the markets closed. The shares closed at $18.82, up 87 cents, on Nasdaq. They have more than tripled since July.
Deckers Chief Financial Officer Scott Ash told Reuters that the higher forecast reflected a push to expand the distribution for the Ugg line, which accounts for about a third of the company’s sales.
Deckers, which also sells Teva sandals and the Simple casual footwear line, raised its forecast for 2004 sales to a range of $133 million to $140 million from its prior forecast of $126 million to $132 million.
Deckers raised its 2004 earnings-per-share outlook to $1.02 to $1.06, above the average Wall Street analyst forecast of 96 cents a share as tracked by Reuters Research.
