Steve Madden Reports Q1 Sales Increases

Steve Madden announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015. According to the report:

+Net sales increased 6.3% to $323.9 million compared to $304.6 million in the same period of 2014.
+Gross margin was 34.4% as compared to 35.6% in the same period last year.
+Operating expenses as a percentage of sales were 26.4% compared to 24.8% of sales in the same period of 2014.
+Operating income totaled $29.8 million, or 9.2% of net sales, compared with operating income of $36.0 million, or 11.8% of net sales, in the same period of 2014. Operating income in the first quarter of 2015 included a net benefit of $3.0 million related to early lease termination of our 5th Avenue store location. +Operating income in the first quarter also included a $3.0 million loss related to the partial impairment of our Wild Pair trademark. As the aforementioned items offset, operating income for the first quarter of 2015 excluding these items remained at $29.8 million.
+Net income was $19.8 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, compared to $23.6 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, in the prior year’s first quarter. Net income for the first quarter of 2015 included the aforementioned items. As these items offset, net income excluding these items remained at $19.8 million, or $0.32 per diluted share.

Edward Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We were pleased with our first quarter results, with both sales and earnings meeting plan. Importantly, we saw a number of new fashion footwear trends begin to emerge, which contributed to double digit comparable store sales growth in our retail business. While sales in our wholesale footwear business excluding acquisitions were down, as expected, in the first quarter, we saw a meaningful improvement in sell-through at our retail partners compared to the prior year. In addition, our wholesale accessories business recorded a strong sales increase, driven by growth in Betsey Johnson, Madden Girl and private label handbags. Overall, we are pleased with the underlying trends we are seeing in our business and remain on track to meet our sales and earnings targets for 2015.”