LaCrosse Preliminary Sales Up - Analyst Blog

LaCrosse Footwear Inc. (BOOT), a leading developer and marketer of premium, branded footwear for the work and outdoor market announced its preliminary sales results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2010. The company is slated to report its full results on February 1, 2011.

Portland, Oregon-based LaCrosse expects to post net revenue of $52.1 million in the fourth quarter, up 23% year over year and also above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $45.0 million. For fiscal 2010, LaCrosse foresees a jump of 8% in sales to reach $150.6 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 is $143.0 million. The better-than-expected top line is driven by strong customer demand across all channels and product innovations taken by the company.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, the footwear company is experiencing strong sales growth in both work and outdoor markets. Work Sales are projected to leap 24% from the prior-year quarter to $31.2 million and Outdoor revenue is expected to increase 21% to $20.9 million.

The Zacks Consensus EPS estimates are 38 cents for the fourth quarter and 82 cents for fiscal 2010. The estimates have not budged in the last 30 days. Hence, we do not foresee any surprises during earnings and expect the company to report in line results.

However, in the third quarter of 2010, LaCrosse reported disappointing results as earnings dropped by almost half from the year-ago quarter to 17 cents. The results were also below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents. LaCrosse's revenue fell 7.6% year over year to $37.7 million. The company reported below expectations due to supply constraints in China.

LaCrosse currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. We also maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.

One of its prime competitors, Deckers Outdoor Corporation (DECK) reported third quarter earnings of $1.07 per share, which outdid the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 93 cents. The strong results came on the heels of strong demand for the product lines under the UGG and Teva brands. Another competitor Nike Inc. (NKE) posted strong fiscal 2011 second-quarter earnings of 94 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 88 cents, on healthy top-line growth coupled with higher gross margin.

 
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