Crocs Net Income Falls on Costs, Weaker Sales

NEWS: Crocs Inc. on Wednesday reported that its fiscal third-quarter net income fell 71 percent due to increased company expenses and weaker sales in the U.S. and Japan. It also issued a disappointing forecast, but announced plans to buy back more shares.

DETAILS: CEO and President John McCarvel said that sales gains in Crocs’s Asia Pacific region and Europe were offset by weakness in the Americas and Japan, where all sales channels performed below the company’s expectations. McCarvel said the situation was particularly troublesome in the Americas, where wholesale accounts trimmed their orders and weak consumer confidence hurt sales directly to consumers.

NUMBERS: Crocs, known for its colorful plastic footwear, earned $13 million, or 15 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That is down from $45.1 million, or 49 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, it earned 18 cents per share in the most recent quarter.

Its revenue fell to $288.5 million from $295.6 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet were anticipating earnings of 19 cents per share on revenue of $292 million.

FUTURE: The company said it expects to post a loss between 20 and 23 cents per share for its fourth quarter, on revenue between $220 million and $225 million. Analysts were anticipating a loss of 4 cents per share on revenue of $233.5 million.

Crocs also said Wednesday that its board has approved the repurchase of up to 15 million additional shares of the company’s stock, bringing its repurchase authorization to 17.8 million shares, about 20 percent of its shares outstanding.

STOCK: Shares of the Niwot, Colo.-based company rose 9 cents in extended trading, to $13.12. Its shares had lost a penny to close regular trading at $13.04, before the release of the earnings report.

Crocs shares took a sharp plunge in July after its last earnings report, and have yet to recover.