Rocky Brands’ dip in sales for full year 2024 is largely attributed to certain non-recurring sales which the company does not anticipate repeating moving forward.
The 2023 non-recurring sales included a spike in military footwear sales to a single customer, sales of Servus-branded products before its March 2023 divestiture, sales from the switch to a distributor model in Canada in November 2023, and contract manufacturing sales of Servus products post-divestiture.
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Setting aside these one-off sales, Rocky Brands experienced a 5.3% increase in net sales on a year-over-year basis.
Rocky Brands’ key metrics from fiscal 2024
Rocky Brands saw its gross margin climb by 70 basis points to reach 39.4% of net sales in FY24, up from 38.7% in the preceding year.
The company’s operational income for 2024 stood at $31.1m, 6.9% of net sales as opposed to $35.4m or 7.7% of net sales in FY23.
During the year ended 31 December 2024, net income of Rocky Brands rose to $11.4m, translating to $1.52 per diluted share, an improvement from $10.4m or $1.41 per diluted share in the prior year.
When adjusted for certain factors, net income was reported at $19.0m or $2.54 per diluted share, compared to $14.3m or $1.93 per diluted share during the same period last year.
Total debt decreased by 25.7% to $128.7m on a year-over-year basis.
Rocky Brands chairman, president and chief executive officer Jason Brooks said: “Our sales trends accelerated as the holiday season progressed led by strong consumer demand for our Durango and XTRATUF brands, with particular strength in our direct to consumer channel which fuelled our highest ever sales quarter for our retail reporting segment.
“We are pleased with our finish to the year, which included recurring wholesale sales returning to growth and retail sales increasing over 15% for the fourth quarter. Increased marketing helped fuel our top-line performance as we brought spending back in-line with historical levels after under investing in demand creation in the year ago period.”
Rocky Brands’ Q4 overview
Focusing on Q4 of FY24 alone, net sales saw an uptick of 1.7%, reaching $128.1m compared with $126.0m in Q4 of FY23.
The figure jumps to an 8.8% increase after adjusting for specific non-recurring sales related to Canadian distribution changes and elevated commercial military footwear sales.
The fourth quarter gross margin improved as well, registering at $53.2m up from the previous year’s $50.7m.
Net income for Q4 2024 was reported at $4.8m or $0.64 per diluted share, including trademark impairment charges; this is down from Q4 2023’s figure of $6.7m or $0.91 per diluted share.
Brooks added: “Our fourth quarter momentum has carried into early 2025, providing us with a good start to the year. While the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, we are cautiously optimistic about our near-term prospects and confident that the substantial reduction in our debt provides us with the financial flexibility to invest in growth and deliver enhanced earnings and greater value for our shareholders.”
