HanesBrands achieves record sales and earnings per share in Q4

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Feb 6, 2017

HanesBrands announced on Thursday that it has achieved record net sales, operating profit and earnings per share in its fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.

 
Net sales climbed 12% to $1.58 billion driven by acquisitions of Pacific Brands of Australia (now referred to as Hanes Australasia), Champion Europe and Champion Japan that offset the weak retail environment and earnings per share jumped 37% to $0.41. The acquisitions drove 78% growth in international sales in the fourth quarter, contributing $243 million in sales.
 
The international business offset the fall in innerwear sales, which decreased 8%, and direct-to-consumer segment sales, which fell 12%. Hanes is adjusting to consumer buying behavior by focusing on online sales. The online channel accounted for 11% of US sales compared to 8% in the previous year.

“We had a strong year of sales, profit and cash flow growth with many accomplishments, including the expansion of our X-Temp product lineup, the successful launch of our Hanes FreshIQ underwear innovation, acquisition integration, and new acquisitions in Europe and Australia,” said Hanes Chief Executive Officer Gerald W. Evans Jr. “Despite the challenging environment, we were able to manage inventory and generate cash, returning nearly $550 million to shareholders through quarterly cash dividends and share repurchases.”
 
Evans added that he expects the company to achieve another record year of cash flow. Fourth quarter operating cash flow increased to $606 million due to inventory management and growth.
 
Full year net sales increased 5% to $6.03 billion and full year adjusted EPS increased 32% to $1.40.
 
For fiscal 2017, Hanes expects a fifth consecutive year of record net sales ranging between $6.45 billion and $6.55 billion, and record operating net cash ranging from $625 million to $725 million.