The US sporting goods supplier Under Armor Inc. was able to record a significant increase in sales in the 2021 financial year and returned to the profit zone. The figures for the fourth quarter, which the company presented on Friday, were surprisingly solid despite the ongoing bottlenecks in global supply chains and exceeded market expectations and its own forecasts.
In the months of October to December, the group achieved sales of 1.53 billion US dollars (1.34 billion euros) and thus exceeded the level of the same quarter of the previous year by 8.9 percent (currency-adjusted +8.2 percent). Analysts had previously expected lower growth.
Strong increases in EMEA and North America ensure surprisingly high sales in the fourth quarter
Quarterly revenues developed most dynamically in the EMEA region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa: At USD 200.2 million, they increased by 24.2 percent year-on-year (currency-adjusted +22.8 percent). Under Armor also achieved double-digit growth in its core market of North America. Sales there grew by 15.1 percent (currency-adjusted +14.7 percent) to 1.06 billion US dollars. Things were less rosy in the Asia-Pacific region, where the sports goods retailer had to accept a drop in sales of 5.9 percent (-7.0 percent at constant currency) to USD 217.2 million. In Latin America, sales even shrank by 21.7 percent (currency-adjusted -23.1 percent) to 44.0 million US dollars.
Last but not least, thanks to lower restructuring costs and value adjustments, operating profit rose by 54.2 percent to 86.1 million US dollars. However, reported net income declined significantly, from $184.5 million in the prior-year quarter due to high special income from the sale of the MyFitnessPal division, to $109.7 million in the most recent quarter (96, 1 million euros).
Back in the profit zone: the net income for the year reaches around 360 million US dollars
For the full fiscal year 2021, Under Armor’s revenue was $5.68 billion, an increase of 27.0 percent (+24.7 percent at constant currency) compared to the previous year. Strong growth in all regions contributed to this: In North America, revenues grew by 29.4 percent (currency-adjusted +28.6 percent) to USD 3.81 billion, in EMEA by 40.8 percent (currency-adjusted +35.0 percent ) to $842.5 million, Asia-Pacific up 32.3 percent (+25.8 percent at constant currency) to $831.8 million, and Latin America up 18.5 percent (+14.4 percent at constant currency). percent) to $195.2 million.
The significant increase in sales and lower one-off charges allowed the company to return to profitability: After an operating loss of USD 613.4 million in 2020, Under Armor achieved an operating profit of USD 486.3 million last year. The bottom line was a net result of 360.1 million US dollars after a deficit of 549.2 million US dollars had been reported in the previous year.