Brazilian group Vulcabras received a 5.8 percent overall revenue lift to 597.3 million Brazilian reais (€109.4m) in Q1 thanks to a 7.4 percent increase in athletic footwear sales to R$495.4 million (€90.7m) as total pairage stepped up 4.7 percent to 4.2 million pairs.
Higher sneaker sales in Brazil from Under Armour, Mizuno and Olympikus offset lower segment sales from other global markets, particularly in the company’s largest export country, Argentina. Also, macroeconomic issues hurt sales at a Peruvian subsidiary. Other footwear sales slipped 7.0 percent to R$39.7 million (€7.3m), and apparel/accessories revenues were down by 7.4 percent to R$62.2 million (€11.4m) for the period ended March 31.
First quarter Ebitda rose by 4.7 percent to R$122.4 million (€22.4m) as domestic sales jumped by 7.2 percent to R$562.9 million (€103.1m) and revenues outside Brazil plummeted by 25.5 percent to R$34.4 million (€6.3m). E-commerce sales increased by nearly 52 percent to R$77.0 million (€14.1m) to represent 12.9 percent of period revenues. Net income increased by 17.7 percent to R$88.8 million (€16.3m). Gross margin, meanwhile, rose by 70 basis points to 40.2 percent.
In February, Vulcabras raised R$501 million (€91.7m) in a secondary offering for additional liquidity.
