HanesBrands (Winston-Salem, NC) and Gildan (Montreal) reported lower sales for their fiscal first quarters compared to the year prior as both companies contend with softer demand.
HanesBrands, for its first quarter ended April 1, registered net sales of $1.39 billion, down 12 percent from the previous year. Notably, US sales for its Champion brand decreased 22 percent.
The company earned a gross profit of $450 million for the period, a decline of 23 percent. The company cited several factors as drags on its margins, including ocean freight inflation, lower sales volume, “unfavorable” product mix, and higher labor rates.
“We delivered first-quarter results in-line with our outlook, generated positive cash flow, and reiterated our full-year outlook,” said Steve Bratspies, HanesBrands CEO, in a prepared statement. “… We expanded our innerwear innovation globally, successfully completed a key technology milestone, progressed on our industry-leading sustainability initiatives, and continued to generate cost savings across the organization. We’re confident in the progress we’re making to become a more consumer-centric, data-driven company that consistently generates higher sales and profit growth over time.”
For the quarter ended April 2, Gildan reported net sales of $702 million, down $72 million or 9 percent from the year-ago period. Its gross profit was $188 million, down $53 million.
In the announcement of its Q1 results, the company confirmed its full-year outlook, including revenue growth for the full year to be in the low single-digit range.
“We are pleased with our top-line results having met our sales expectations for the quarter,” said Glenn J. Chamandy, Gildan’s president and CEO, in the announcement. “Moreover, even though the economic environment remains uncertain, we remain comfortable with our full-year outlook given our strong competitive position, which we are reinforcing with the Gildan Sustainable Growth (GSG) strategy, and POS trends across our business coming in line with our expectations during the first quarter.”