The US clothing group VF Corporation had to accept a decline in sales in the 2024/25 financial year. At the same time, the parent company of brands such as The North Face, Vans and Timberland was able to significantly reduce its loss thanks to extensive austerity measures. This emerges from current results that the company presented on Wednesday as part of a presentation.
CEO Bracken Darrell was satisfied with the course of business in the last three months of the financial year: “We surpassed our forecast for the operating result in the fourth quarter, which reflects the effects of our transformation program ‘Reinvent’,” he said in a statement. The decline in sales by five percent (currency -adjusted -3 percent) in the final district was within the framework of expectations.
Darrell also emphasized that the group had progressed well in its reform efforts and thus reduced the cost base and strengthened the balance sheet. Overall, VF is “well positioned to master the increased uncertainties in the macroeconomic environment,” emphasized the CEO.
Losses in the brands vans and Dickies reduce the corporate turnover
In the past financial year, which was completed at the end of March, the group turnover amounted to $ 9.50 billion (8.40 billion euros) and thus missed the previous year’s level by four percent. Adjusted to change course changes, the proceeds also decreased by four percent.
The sales of sales were primarily due to significant losses among the Vans (-16 percent) and Dickies brands (-12 percent). Slight growth at The North Face (+1 percent), Timberland (+3 percent) and the smaller group brands (+2 percent) were not enough to compensate for this minus.
The lust of net reduces 80 percent
Thanks to an improved gross margin as well as lower operating costs and value adjustments, the group was able to achieve an operational profit of $ 303.8 million. In the previous year he had to accept a loss of $ 143.9 million.
The designated net loss was reduced to $ 189.7 million (167.6 million euros). Compared to the previous year, in which he was $ 968.9 million, the shortfall fell by 80.4 percent.
Management expects a loss of sales and an operational loss for the first quarter
The group did without concrete forecasts for the current financial year 2025/26. For the first quarter, he is currently expecting three to five percent and a surgical loss in the range of $ 110 to $ 125 million, which was decomposed by a currency decline in sales.