HanesBrands sales up despite intimates apparel headwinds

HanesBrands announced on Thursday sales for the first quarter rose 2.1% to $760 million, a better-than-expected growth rate at the U.S. apparel firm, which noted headwinds across its intimates apparel business locally.

The North Carolina-based company said U.S. sales decreased 1%. The company said it remained focused on core growth fundamentals including innovation, increased brand investments, and incremental programming opportunities, delivering year-over-year growth in its basics, active, and new businesses segments. However, this growth was more than offset by continued headwinds in the intimate apparel business, it added.

Likewise, the owner of Bonds and Berlei underwear brands, among others, said international sales fell 2% on a reported basis, which included a $12 million headwind from unfavorable foreign exchange rates. International sales increased 4% on a constant currency basis, thanks to sales growth in Australia and Asia, and steady growth in the Americas.

For the three months ending March 29, income from continuing operations totaled $14 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $33 million, or $0.09 per diluted share in the prior-year quarter.

​“We delivered another strong quarter, including revenue, operating profit and earnings per share that exceeded our expectations as we continue to see the benefits of our growth strategy and prior transformation initiatives,” said Steve Bratspies, CEO, HanesBrands.

“We also reiterated our full-year outlook, which now reflects our expected impact from U.S. tariffs, as the current environment presents challenges but also creates real revenue opportunities. We’re confident we can fully mitigate the cost headwinds as we have many levers to pull, including further cost reductions and pricing actions. We’re also actively pursuing new revenue opportunities, which we believe we’re in an advantaged position to capture given our western hemisphere supply chain speed and capabilities matched with our strong retailer relationships.”

Looking ahead, the company said it expects sales from continuing operations to fall between  $3.47 billion and $3.52 billion, which includes projected headwinds of some $60 million from changes in foreign currency exchange rates.