Performing less well than in the recent past, Vulcabras reported an increase in net revenues of only 2.7 percent to 299.8 million Brazilian reais (€69.0m-$77.7m) in the first quarter of this year. With a minimal contribution from the company's new distribution contract for Under Armour in Brazil, sales of athletic footwear declined by 1.6 percent, representing 77.9 percent of the turnover.
The balance was represented by the Azaleia and Dijean brands of women's shoes, whose sales declined by 7.5 percent. Most of the athletic footwear revenues continued to stem from the sale of Olympikus shoes, which were affected by a drop in average selling prices in Brazil and lower sales in Argentina and other neighboring countries. Olympikus claims to be still the biggest brand of sports shoes in Brazil in terms of volume.
The quarterly gross margin dropped by 0.4 percentage points to 34.0 percent, the Ebitda margin fell by 1.5 percentage points to 15.7 percent, and the net profit margin declined by 2.7 percentage points to 8.7 percent of revenues.
Vulcabras has already started to develop and produce Under Armour shoes at its own manufacturing facilities in Brazil, positioning the brand in a higher segment of the market. Vulcabras spent 4.0 percent on advertising in the first quarter, but the company said that the ratio will have to increase to support the growth of Under Armour.
