The US clothing group VF Corporation closed the third quarter of 2021/22 with high growth in sales and earnings. In North America and the EMEA region in particular, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa, business has recovered well after being hit by the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic in the same period last year, the company said on Friday.
In the third quarter, ended Jan. 1, the parent company of brands including Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Supreme reported sales of $3.62 billion, a an increase of 22 percent (currency-adjusted +22 percent) compared to the corresponding prior-year level. Adjusted for the contributions from newly acquired brands, the growth rate was 15 percent (currency-adjusted +16 percent).
The Group achieved significant growth in the USA (+24 percent), in the rest of America (+27 percent, currency-adjusted +24 percent) and in EMEA (+26 percent, currency-adjusted +28 percent). Revenues in the Asia-Pacific region (+5 percent, currency-adjusted +3 percent) developed less dynamically, which was mainly due to a decline in sales in Greater China (-6 percent, currency-adjusted -9 percent).
The clothing supplier also made significant progress in terms of earnings: Operating profit was $678.4 million, 65 percent more than in the previous year, and net income for the quarter grew by 49 percent to $517.8 million (EUR 464.9 million). ).
Due to the ongoing supply bottlenecks, the group corrected its sales forecast for the entire financial year slightly downwards: It now expects around 11.85 billion US dollars, after 12 billion US dollars had previously been targeted. The target for adjusted earnings per share remained unchanged at $3.20. This includes a $0.25 contribution from Supreme, which was acquired in late 2020.