Hanesbrands reports $26.8m Q1 loss

The U.S. based apparel company HanesBrands reported 

a net loss for the first quarter ending March 31, 2012, to the extent of $0.27 per diluted share, compared with EPS of $0.49 in the year-ago first quarter. Net sales were $1.01 billion, a decrease of 3 percent compared with $1.04 billion a year ago. The results were better than the company's guidance for an EPS loss of up to $0.35 and net sales of approximately $1 billion.

"We are tracking consistent with our expectations, and now with the worst of the cotton inflation behind us, our operating profit margin for the remainder of the year should average in the low double digits," Hanes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard A. Noll said. "Sales, profits and cash flow are running consistent with, or better than, our plans. When coupled with the visibility of our pricing and costs for the rest of the year, we feel very good about our momentum and are confident in our ability to achieve our full-year financial goals."

In the first-quarter the company’s innerwear segment, which now includes hosiery operations, reported a net sales increase of 1 per cent. Outerwear segment sales decreased 9 percent but increased 4 percent excluding imagewear, with strong contributions from retail categories. International segment sales decreased 5 percent in the quarter, while operating profit fell 84 percent. The Direct to Consumer segment sale in the quarter increased 2 percent and operating profit tripled.

HanesBrands operates with brands like Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, JMS/Just My Size, Barely There, Wonderbra and Gear For Sports. It has approximately 53,300 employees in more than 25 countries.