Hoka One One continues to run fast. Deckers Brands, which bought Hoka in 2013, reported a 33 percent increase to $67.1 million for the brand's sales in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, ended on March 31, driven by international sales. Its sales outside the U.S. went up by 59 percent, with particular strength in Europe. In the U.S., Hoka is already one of three major brands in multiple specialty running accounts.
In the full financial year, Hoka's sales jumped by 45 percent to $223.1 million, outperforming all the other brands in Deckers' portfolio by a wide margin except for the recently acquired Koolaburra brand, a sort of lower-price Ugg clone. Teva grew by 3 percent to $137.4 million for the year, and its sales in the fourth quarter declined by 4 percent. Japan, where Teva is trendy, was defined as a bright spot.
Deckers' biggest brand, Ugg, finished the year with a 2 percent increase to $1,533 million, but its sales were off by 7 percent in the seasonally small fourth quarter. Sanuk's sales fell by 9 percent to $82.6 million for the year, and they were down by 12 percent in the final quarter. The Koolaburra brand grew strongly, reaching a level of $44.0 million after a 67 percent increase in the fourth quarter.
For the current financial year, the company is projecting sales increases in the mid-20s for Hoka and in the mid-40s to upper-50s for Koolaburra. Ugg should record a low single-digit increase, while Teva and Sanuk should stay flat. Deckers' gross margin could drop slightly, and the management is forecasting a net profit of around $244 million for the year.
Deckers broke the $2 billion milestone in the past year as its total revenues went up by 6 percent to $2,020 million. The gross margin improved by 2.5 percentage points to 51.5 percent and the group's comprehensive net profit nearly doubled to $254.6 million.
In the fourth quarter, Deckers' sales fell by 2 percent to $394.1 million, with a 12 percent decline in the direct-to-consumer segment that was mainly attributable to Ugg's performance. The gross margin jumped by 3.6 percentage points thanks to supply chain improvements, higher sales at full price and higher margins on closeouts. The adjusted net profit increased by 16 percent to $23.9 million.
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