Investing.com - Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) shares jumped in premarket trade on Tuesday, after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations.
The results underscored the success of its multi-year plan to lower costs and reduce bloated inventory. The third-largest U.S. sportswear maker has closed stores, cut jobs and rolled back promotions to bolster profit margins as it tries to recover from a bruising fight for market share with bigger rivals Nike (NYSE:NKE) and Adidas (DE:ADSGN).
The sports apparel firm reported earnings per share of $0.09, beating expectations for earnings of $0.04.
Revenue totaled $1.39 billion, just above forecasts of $1.38 billion, with 24% growth in international sales offsetting a 6% drop in North America.
Apparel revenue increased 2% to $970 million, thanks to growth in sales in training wear, but footwear revenue fell 4% to $235 million and accessories revenue fell 6% to $116, driven by declines in outdoor and training sales.
Looking ahead, Under Armour said it expects full-year adjusted earnings per share to be in a range between $0.31 and $0.33 in 2019, while revenue is expected to increase approximately 3%-to-4%.
Gross margins rose for the second straight quarter - up 160 basis points to 45.0%, a development it put down to changes in the regional and channel mix, product cost improvements, lower promotional activity, and lower air freight costs.
"Our 2018 results demonstrate significant progress against our multi-year transformation toward becoming an even stronger brand and more operationally excellent company," said Under Armour Chairman and CEO Kevin Plank.
Under Armour's stock rose 1.2% in premarket trade to $21.04.
Under Armour A follows other major Consumer Cyclical sector earnings this month
On February 6, Toyota Motor ADR reported third quarter EPS of $1.14 on revenue of $71.04B, compared to forecasts of EPS of $3.32 on revenue of $68.23B.
Louis Vuitton ADR earnings matched analyst's expectations on January 29, with fourth quarter EPS of $1.56 on revenue of $15.65B. Investing.com analysts expected EPS of $1.56 on revenue of $15.65B
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