Despite a challenging retail environment and some unfavorable macroeconomic circumstances, the Brazilian Vulcabras group generated record quarterly sales, Ebitda, and gross margin for the period ended Sept. 30. Revenues rose by 10.2 percent to 731.4 million Brazilian reais (€136.7m) as Ebit improved by 42 percent to R$149.1 million (€27.9m). E-commerce sales jumped by 99.0 percent to R$77.0 million (€14.4m) to account for 10.5 percent of the period’s revenue. Sales in the Brazilian market rose by 11.3 percent to R$692.1 million (€129.3m) but declined by 5.8 percent elsewhere in the world to R$39.3 million (€7.3m). Third quarter net income increased 30.3 percent to R$127.6 m (€23.8m), and gross margin improved 520 basis points year-over-year to 42.9 percent from 37.7 percent.
Athletic footwear sales stepped 14.3 percent higher year-over-year to R$632.7 million (€118.2m) due to stronger sales in domestic and foreign markets. Meanwhile, lower flip-flop sales in foreign markets contributed to a 12.3 percent drop in Other footwear sales to R$45.1 million (€8.4m). Apparel and Accessories segment sales fell by 8.5 percent to $53.6 million (€10.0m).
Through nine months, Vulcabras has sold more than 14.8 million pairs of athletic footwear, up 3.5 percent year-over-year. Other footwear sales have declined by 6.2 percent to 3.4 million pairs, and Apparel and Accessories units have declined 11.9 percent to almost 4.5 million.
