Wolverine World Wide Q1 sales surge 20%, earnings dip

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
May 12, 2022

Wolverine World Wide announced on Wednesday a 20% uptick in revenues for the first quarter, as strong demand for the U.S company's portfolio of brands outweighed continued supply chain challenges and macro headwinds.

The Rockford, Michigan-based company said quarterly revenues came in at $615 million for the three months ending April 2, compared to $511 million for the same period last year.

​Direct-to-consumer revenue increased 24% including Sweaty Betty, which Wolverine acquired in early August last year, and decreased 14% excluding the activewear brand.

By brand, Sperry sales surged 19% to $657.4 million, while the company's namesake Wolverine brand increased 12% to $59 million. The group's largest brand by sales  in value terms, Merrell, decreased 1.5% during the quarter to $148 million, while Saucony sales lifted 3.7% to $106 million.

Net earnings for the quarter fell to $8.4 million, from $38.4 million in the same quarter last year.

​“We delivered strong financial results in the quarter despite continued supply chain challenges and macro headwinds,” said Brendan Hoffman, Wolverine Worldwide’s president and chief executive officer.

“Revenue and operating margin exceeded expectations, despite gross margin pressure related to higher supply chain costs and channel mix shift. We are encouraged to see continued strong demand across brands and have upcoming product launches and powerful marketing initiatives planned to drive further excitement among consumers."

For the full year 2022, revenue is expected to be in the range of $2.77 billion to $2.85 billion, representing growth of approximately 15% to 18%, the company added.

"Looking ahead, we remain committed to advancing our primary growth strategies, with a more focused approach on execution as we capitalize on a favorable industry backdrop in outdoor, performance and work categories.”