Delta Apparel Inc., Greenville, S.C., recently reported financial results for the three-month transition period ended Sept. 28, 2013. The transition period was necessary to accommodate the change in the company’s fiscal year end from June to September, therefore starting the 2014 fiscal year on Sept. 29, 2013. Transition period comparisons are made against the fiscal 2013 first quarter ended Sept. 29, 2012.
Net sales for the transition period were $122.6 million versus $130.1 million in the comparable prior year period. Net earnings for the transition period were $0.6 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, compared with $3.6 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.
Robert W. Humphreys, Delta Apparel’s chairman and CEO, noted that while the transition period did not produce the financial results the company had anticipated, it was one in which Delta concluded many of the consolidation and expansion projects it has pursued over the past year. “We completed the modernization of the Soffe printing operations. Now, with all of the new equipment in place, we are beginning to increase the productivity of that operation,” he said. “In addition, the Wendell [screen printing] facility has been closed and the equipment is expected to be sold in the near future. The expansion of our Honduras sewing plant was also completed with no disruption to our operations during the move. This expansion gives us the capability to increase our sewing capacity as needed.”
Delta also consolidated its college bookstore operations into its The Game sportswear brand, introduced a new USA-made apparel line and updated its bank loan to support the acquisition of the Salt Life surf and beach apparel brand.
“Most of the expense for these initiatives was recognized during the transition period, and we anticipate the next several quarters will be ones in which we will begin to see the results of our efforts,” Humphreys said. “While the current economic environment for apparel is more challenging than we anticipated, we believe the steps we have taken position us to meet our guidance for fiscal year 2014.”
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