Rocky Brands, Inc. Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2010 Results

Company Returns to Second Quarter Profitability with Diluted EPS of $0.08

Second Quarter Sales Increased 7.9% to $55.2 Million

Funded Debt Decreased $50.6 Million, or 58% to $36.9 Million

NELSONVILLE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rocky Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: RCKY) today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

For the second quarter of 2010, net sales increased 7.9% to $55.2 million versus net sales of $51.2 million in the second quarter of 2009. The Company reported net income of $0.5 million, or $0.08 per diluted share versus a net loss of $1.4 million, or ($0.25) per diluted share a year ago. Excluding one-time charges of $0.6 million, net of tax, associated with the early repayment of a portion of the Company's senior term loan, second quarter 2010 net income improved to $1.1 million, or $0.17 per diluted share.

Mike Brooks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "There were several highlights from the second quarter, most notably the dramatic improvement in our bottom line. The combination of sales growth, a 370 basis point improvement in wholesale gross margin, and meaningful operating expense leverage, allowed us to recover from a loss in the year ago period and deliver profitability that was well above plan. We also made significant progress in improving our capital structure during the second quarter. We paid off the majority of our high interest, senior term loan using proceeds from our successful equity offering and availability under our existing credit facility. As a result, we cut our debt level at the end of the second quarter by more than half and will considerably reduce our interest expense going forward. We are very pleased with the progress we have made towards building a more efficient organization and we look forward to taking advantage of our improved position to better capitalize on the growth opportunities that are ahead."

Second Quarter Review

Net sales for the second quarter increased 7.9% to $55.2 million compared to $51.2 million a year ago. Wholesale sales for the second quarter increased to $38.5 million compared to $37.9 million for the same period in 2009. Retail sales for the second quarter were $11.0 million compared to $12.3 million for the same period last year. The modest decline in retail sales was the result of the ongoing transition to more Internet driven transactions and the decision to remove a portion of our Lehigh mobile stores from operations to help lower costs as discussed below. Military segment sales for the second quarter increased to $5.7 million versus $0.9 million for the same period in 2009.

Gross margin in the second quarter of 2010 was $19.1 million, or 34.6% of sales compared to $17.7 million, or 34.6% for the same period last year. Wholesale gross margin was up 370 basis points driven by increased manufacturing efficiencies in the Company's factories. This was offset by lower retail gross margin as a result of the ongoing transition to more Internet driven transactions and the increase in sales to the Military which carry lower gross margin than the wholesale and retail businesses.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased $2.0 million or 10.8% to $16.2 million, or 29.3% of sales for the second quarter of 2010 compared to $18.1 million, or 35.4% of sales a year ago. The decrease in SG&A expenses was primarily the result of a reduction in salaries & benefits, bad debt expense, advertising costs, and Lehigh store expenses.

Income from operations was $2.9 million, or 5.3% of net sales for the period compared to an operating loss of $0.4 million in the prior year.

Interest expense increased to $2.1 million for the second quarter of 2010 versus $1.9 million for the same period last year. The increase was attributable to one-time fees of approximately $0.9 million associated with the early repayment of a portion of the Company's senior term loan.

The Company's funded debt decreased $50.6 million, or 57.8% to $36.9 million at June 30, 2010 versus $87.5 million at June 30, 2009.

Inventory decreased $17.5 million, or 22.0%, to $61.8 million at June 30, 2010 compared with $79.3 million on the same date a year ago.

The Company's accounts receivable decreased $3.7 million, or 8.2% to $40.8 million at June 30, 2010 versus $44.5 million at June 30, 2009.

Conference Call Information

The Company's conference call to review second quarter fiscal 2010 results will be broadcast live over the internet today, Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 4:30 pm Eastern Time. The broadcast will be hosted at www.rockybrands.com.

About Rocky Brands, Inc.

Rocky Brands, Inc. is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of premium quality footwear and apparel marketed under a portfolio of well recognized brand names including Rocky(R), Georgia Boot(R), Durango(R), Lehigh(R), and the licensed brands Dickies(R), Michelin(R) and Mossy Oak(R).

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Those statements include, but may not be limited to, all statements regarding intent, beliefs, expectations, projections, forecasts, and plans of the Company and its management, and include statements in this press release regarding reduction of interest expense and future growth opportunities (paragraph 3). These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the various risks inherent in the Company's business as set forth in periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 (filed March 2, 2010) and the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 (filed May 3, 2010). One or more of these factors have affected historical results, and could in the future affect the Company's businesses and financial results in future periods and could cause actual results to differ materially from plans and projections. Therefore there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the Company, or any other person should not regard the inclusion of such information as a representation that the objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on information presently available to the management of the Company. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.


Rocky Brands, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

                             June 30, 2010    December 31, 2009  June 30, 2009

                             Unaudited                           Unaudited

ASSETS:

CURRENT ASSETS:

 Cash and cash equivalents   $ 3,166,143      $ 1,797,093        $ 2,865,461

 Trade receivables - net       40,782,470       45,831,558         44,454,476

 Other receivables             1,182,335        1,476,643          1,924,195

 Inventories                   61,811,667       55,420,467         79,286,477

 Deferred income taxes         1,475,695        1,475,695          2,167,966

 Income tax receivable         325,493          -                  2,413,523

 Prepaid expenses              1,876,888        1,309,138          1,983,480

        Total current          110,620,691      107,310,594        135,095,578
        assets

FIXED ASSETS - net             22,436,535       22,669,876         23,777,945

IDENTIFIED INTANGIBLES         30,512,822       30,516,910         30,769,248

OTHER ASSETS                   2,112,475        2,892,683          3,609,296

TOTAL ASSETS                 $ 165,682,523    $ 163,390,063      $ 193,252,067

LIABILITIES AND
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

 Accounts payable            $ 13,415,750     $ 6,781,534        $ 8,504,099

 Current maturities - long     528,434          511,870            495,976
 term debt

 Accrued expenses:

 Taxes - other                 535,101          440,223            502,032

 Income Tax Payable            -                26,242             -

 Other                         4,931,764        5,226,749          4,504,202

        Total current          19,411,049       12,986,618         14,006,309
        liabilities

LONG TERM DEBT - less          36,370,863       55,079,776         87,023,125
current maturities

DEFERRED INCOME TAXES          9,071,639        9,071,639          9,438,921

DEFERRED LIABILITIES           3,875,048        3,774,356          4,056,184

TOTAL LIABILITIES              68,728,599       80,912,389         114,524,539

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:

Common stock, no par value;

 25,000,000 shares
 authorized; issued and
 outstanding
 June 30, 2010 - 7,406,787;
 December 31, 2009 -
 5,576,465;
 June 30, 2009 - 5,547,215

                               68,931,586       54,598,104         54,384,172

Accumulated other              (3,037,242  )    (3,217,144  )      (3,062,448  )
comprehensive loss

Retained earnings              31,059,580       31,096,714         27,405,804

        Total shareholders'    96,953,924       82,477,674         78,727,528
        equity

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND        $ 165,682,523    $ 163,390,063      $ 193,252,067
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY





Rocky Brands, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

                 Three Months Ended                  Six Months Ended

                 June 30,                            June 30,

                 2010             2009               2010              2009

NET SALES        $ 55,223,054     $ 51,188,615       $ 111,302,040     $ 101,253,176

COST OF GOODS      36,123,970       33,470,943         73,446,107        63,443,016
SOLD

GROSS MARGIN       19,099,084       17,717,672         37,855,933        37,810,160

SELLING,
GENERAL AND

ADMINISTRATIVE     16,163,354       18,119,173         34,188,041        38,065,301
EXPENSES

INCOME/(LOSS)
FROM               2,935,730        (401,501   )       3,667,892         (255,141    )
OPERATIONS

OTHER INCOME
AND
(EXPENSES):

 Interest          (2,121,552 )     (1,936,490 )       (3,766,143  )     (3,710,420  )
 expense

 Other - net       3,432            158,023            40,117            33,457

  Total other      (2,118,120 )     (1,778,467 )       (3,726,026  )     (3,676,963  )
  - net

INCOME/(LOSS)
BEFORE INCOME      817,610          (2,179,968 )       (58,134     )     (3,932,104  )
TAXES

INCOME TAX
EXPENSE/           294,000          (785,000   )       (21,000     )     (1,416,000  )
(BENEFIT)

NET INCOME/      $ 523,610        $ (1,394,968 )     $ (37,134     )   $ (2,516,104  )
(LOSS)

INCOME/(LOSS)
PER SHARE

 Basic           $ 0.08           $ (0.25      )     $ (0.01       )   $ (0.45       )

 Diluted         $ 0.08           $ (0.25      )     $ (0.01       )   $ (0.45       )

WEIGHTED
AVERAGE NUMBER
OF

COMMON SHARES
OUTSTANDING

 Basic             6,535,812        5,547,215          6,072,045         5,546,880

 Diluted           6,557,289        5,547,215          6,072,045         5,546,880




    Source: Rocky Brands, Inc.