The US clothing retailer Levi Strauss & Co. closed the 2020/21 financial year with a strong increase in sales and a high profit. On Wednesday evening, the company forecast further growth for the current year. The residents liked the current figures: the share price of the denim specialist immediately rose by more than twelve percent.
For the past fiscal year, which ended November 28, Levi Strauss sales were approximately $5.76 billion (€5.15 billion). It thus exceeded the previous year’s value by 29 percent and again reached the level of 2018/19.
Unlike last year, when the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic had weighed heavily on business, the company was able to generate a large surplus: net profit was 554 million US dollars (495 million euros) after a loss in 2019/20 of 127 million US dollars had to be booked. Adjusted for special effects, net income jumped from 84 to 601 million US dollars.
Contributing to the significant growth was a strong final quarter, in which sales grew 22 percent to $1.68 billion thanks to double-digit improvements in all market regions and net income increased to $153 million from $57 million in the same period last year.
In the current fiscal year 2021/22, the company now wants to grow further: The management forecast sales growth of eleven to 13 percent to 6.4 to 6.5 billion US dollars. Earnings per share adjusted for special effects, which were 1.47 US dollars last year, are to be increased to 1.50 to 1.56 US dollars.