The US fashion retailer Steve Madden significantly exceeded market expectations in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year and subsequently raised its forecast for the year. Like parent company Steven Madden Ltd. announced on Wednesday that group sales for the months of January to March amounted to 559.7 million US dollars (528.3 million euros). It was thus 55.0 percent above the level of the same quarter of the previous year.
The company also made significant progress in terms of earnings: At USD 97.9 million, operating profit was more than three times as high as in the first quarter of 2021, when it was only USD 28.0 million. Net income attributable to shareholders jumped to $74.5 million from $21.2 million.
In view of the surprisingly strong growth, the management is now more optimistic about the coming months: For 2022 it is now forecasting sales growth of 13 to 16 percent, after only an increase of 10 to 13 percent had previously been targeted. The target range for diluted earnings per share was raised from $2.66 to $2.76 to $2.87 to $2.97.