Delta Apparel, Greenville, S.C., has announced preliminary sales and operating results for its 2021 fiscal third quarter which ended July 3 (the “June” quarter).
The company expects net sales for its June quarter to be approximately $118 million, representing 65% growth compared to the prior year and coming in roughly flat to the third quarter of fiscal 2019. The stronger than anticipated sales performance reflected exceedingly strong Salt Life Group revenue across all sales channels, according to the company. Direct-to-consumer sales grew more than 150% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2019. Delta Activewear also outperformed the company’s sales expectations, with strong demand from retail license and brand direct customers. Stronger sales, higher gross margins and continued leverage of general and administrative expenses is expected to result in earnings of over $0.90 per diluted share for the company’s fiscal 2021 June quarter.
“Our June quarter performance is a true testament to the power of our diversified business model,” says Robert W. Humphreys, Delta’s chairman and CEO. “The strong emotional connection to our Salt Life lifestyle brand drove robust consumer engagement that far exceeded our expectations and further validated our belief in this aspirational brand. As we announced last week, we are opening two new retail doors: one in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and one in Galveston, our first store in the state of Texas. With twelve Salt Life stores already opened, we have proven the success of this omni-channel shopping experience for consumers. We now plan to accelerate our investments in this key sales channel and look to further expand the Salt Life brand reach with at least five additional retail locations in 2022.”
Humphreys continued, “Within our Delta Group segment, we were very pleased with our teams’ ability to ramp up manufacturing capacity and capitalize on accelerating demand across sales channels. The June quarter is typically our strongest selling period of the year, and we delivered results significantly ahead of expectations considering the inventory constraints and supply chain disruptions we experienced during the quarter. We continue to see high demand from large retail and global brand partners seeking the products and value-added services we can uniquely deliver within the Delta Group segment.”
Final and complete financial results for the company’s fiscal year 2021 third quarter will be released after the market close on August 5. — D.S.
