The US shoe retailer Crocs Inc. closed the 2022 financial year with a new sales record. In its annual report published on Thursday, the company confirmed a corresponding advance notification from last month. For the current year, the management is now again promising strong growth. “We expect another record year,” said CEO Andrew Rees in a statement.
In 2022, group sales reached 3.55 billion US dollars (3.33 billion euros), exceeding the previous year’s level by 53.7 percent (currency-adjusted +58.2 percent). The company owes the significant increase not least to the purchase of the shoe brand Heydude, which was completed on February 17, 2021. After that, the label contributed $895.9 million to total sales by the end of the year. The core Crocs brand increased its sales by 14.9 percent (currency-adjusted +19.4 percent) to 2.66 billion US dollars.
Despite one-off charges related to the Heydude acquisition and a lower gross margin, the Group was also able to significantly improve its operating result thanks to efficient cost controls. Operating profit grew 24.5 percent to $850.8 million. Adjusted for special effects, it even increased by 41.9 percent. Reported net income, however, shrank by 25.6 percent to $540.2 million (€506.2 million) due to higher interest payments and tax charges.
The group also confirmed its sales forecast for 2023 published in mid-January. According to this, management continues to expect sales of 3.9 to 4.0 billion US dollars on the basis of stable exchange rates, which would mean an increase of ten to 13 percent compared to the previous year . Sales of the Crocs brand are expected to increase by six to eight percent (nine to eleven percent adjusted for currency effects), while Heydude is aiming for a plus in the “mid-twenty percent range”. The target range for adjusted earnings per share is $11.00 to $11.31. Last year it had reached a high of $10.92.