With a net income up by 70.4 percent to $9.3 million, Volcom had a brilliant start to 2008. Revenues for the quarter ended March 31 were up by 58.5 percent to $80.6 million compared with the same period last year, and the gross profit margin was up by 0.4 percentage points to 52.4 percent. The operating margin climbed by 2 percentage points to 17.9 percent.
European sales reached $25.2 million for the quarter, well ahead of the company's projections, delivering an operating profit of $9 million compared with a loss in the same period a year ago. The newly acquired Electric Visual contributed a turnover of $6.2 million a modest profit.
The company said that one reason for the increases was that it had moved planned product shipments from the second quarter to the first. Its guidance for second-quarter revenues is $69 million to $70 million, an increase of 20-21 percent from 2007. For the full year, Volcom has increased its expectations for revenues to a range between $343 million and $347 million; it previously issued guidance of $339-$344 million. European sales are expected to reach €73 million.
