Delta Apparel Reports 12% Revenue Growth

Delta Apparel Inc., Duluth, Ga., reported sales of approximately $475 million for the 52-week fiscal year ended July 2, 2011, an increase of 12 percent compared to $424.4 million in the 53-week fiscal year 2010.

The sales increase was driven by organic growth of approximately 7 percent as well as sales from the acquisition of The Cotton Exchange, which was acquired in July 2010. The company expects full year 2011 earnings to be in the range of $1.96 to $1.98 per diluted share, an increase of over 40 percent from the $1.40 earnings per diluted share in the prior year. The company plans to report fiscal 2011 full year results on Wednesday, August 31, 2010 after the market closes.

Robert W. Humphreys, chairman and chief executive officer, commented, "Fiscal year 2011 was another strong year for Delta Apparel Inc., marking our eighth consecutive year of revenue growth and an all-time record earnings for our company. In addition to completing the acquisition of The Cotton Exchange and the Salt Life exclusive license, we continued to invest in other marketing and merchandising initiatives, driving growth in both our basics and branded segments. We expanded the capacity and further improved the performance within our vertically integrated manufacturing platform. Although we are in a challenging economic environment, we believe we are positioned well for continued growth in the upcoming year."

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, the company expects net sales to be in the range of $500 to $520 million, an increase of 5 percent to 9 percent, all of which is expected to be organic growth. Earnings are expected to be in the range of $2.00 to $2.15 per diluted share in fiscal year 2012.

The company remains concerned about the challenging market conditions resulting from the volatile cotton market, inflationary pressures and general economic conditions which continue to impact consumer demand for apparel. In determining its expectations for the upcoming year, the company believes it has taken these heightened risk factors as well as other factors such as anticipated tax rates into consideration.

"While we are facing challenges in fiscal year 2012, we believe that Delta Apparel Inc. is positioned for continued sales growth and earnings expansion," Humphreys added. "Our brands appeal to a large and growing consumer base and we expect to see significant revenue growth in some of our newer branded apparel lines. We expect to continue the expansion of our manufacturing platform to support our anticipated growth and further leverage our fixed costs. While we will have higher raw material costs flowing through cost of sales in the upcoming year, we believe we can mitigate the impact of this through our continuous process improvement initiatives and leveraging of our fixed administrative expenses. In addition, our strong balance sheet gives us the strength and flexibility to continue to make prudent strategic investments towards our growth in the future."

For more information, visit Delta Apparel's website.