Exhibit 99

 

  ROCKY BRANDS, INC.  
     
  Company Contact: Jim McDonald
  Chief Financial Officer
    (740) 753-1951
     
  Investor Relations: ICR, Inc.
    Brendon Frey
    (203) 682-8200

 

ROCKY BRANDS, INC. ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER 2015 RESULTS

Second Quarter Earnings Per Share Increased 30% to $0.26

Funded Debt Decreased $7.8 Million or 17.9% to $35.6 Million

 

NELSONVILLE, Ohio, July 22, 2015 - Rocky Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKY) today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2015.

 

Second Quarter 2015 Sales and Income

Second quarter net sales were $68.6 million compared to $68.8 million in the second quarter of 2014. The Company reported second quarter net income of $2.0 million, or $0.26 per diluted share compared to net income of $1.5 million, or $0.20 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2014.

 

David Sharp, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We continue to deliver exceptionally strong profit gains year-over-year highlighting the power of our business model. The enhancements we’ve made to our operating structure fueled improved gross margins and lower expenses in the second quarter, allowing us to translate a slight decrease in sales into a 30% increase in earnings per share. Our top-line comparison reflects certain one-time events such as a seeding program with a major retail partner during the year ago period that we didn’t repeat this year which impacted our wholesale results, offset by a significant increase in our contract military business. Based on current sell-through momentum, our fall order book and easier comparisons, we are confident that we can increase sales mid-single digits during the back half of 2015.”

 

Second Quarter Review

Net sales for the second quarter were $68.6 million compared to $68.8 million a year ago. Wholesale sales for the second quarter decreased 4.9% to $53.9 million compared to $56.7 million for the same period in 2014. Retail sales for the second quarter increased 1.2% to $10.2 million compared to $10.1 million for the same period last year. Military segment sales for the second quarter increased to $4.5 million compared to $2.0 million in the second quarter of 2014.

 

Gross margin in the second quarter of 2015 was $22.6 million, or 33.0% of sales, compared to $22.6 million, or 32.8% of sales, for the same period last year. The 20 basis point increase was driven by higher wholesale and retail gross margins, partially offset by the increase in military segment sales which carry lower gross margins than wholesale and retail.

 

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $19.4 million, or 28.3% of net sales, for the second quarter of 2015 compared to $20.0 million, or 29.1% of net sales, a year ago. The $0.6 million decrease in SG&A expenses was primarily attributable to lower incentive compensation expense.

 

Income from operations was $3.3 million, or 4.7% of net sales, compared to $2.5 million, or 3.7% of net sales, a year ago.

 

Interest expense was $176,000 for the second quarter of 2015, versus $225,000 for the same period last year.

 

 
 

 

The Company’s funded debt decreased $7.8 million or 17.9% to $35.6 million at June 30, 2015 compared to $43.4 million at June 30, 2014.

 

Inventories were $86.5 million at June 30, 2015 compared with $86.4 million on the same date a year ago.

 

Conference Call Information

The Company’s conference call to review second quarter 2015 results will be broadcast live over the internet today, Wednesday July 22, 2015 at 4:30 pm Eastern Time. The broadcast will be hosted at http://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®, Georgia Boot®, Durango®, Lehigh®, Creative Recreation®, and the licensed brand Michelin®.

 

Safe Harbor Language

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 sales growth (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, 2014 (filed February 27, 2015) and quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 (filed April 30, 2015). 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.

 

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Rocky Brands, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

   June 30, 2015   December 31, 2014   June 30, 2014 
   Unaudited   Audited   Unaudited 
ASSETS:            
             
CURRENT ASSETS:            
Cash and cash equivalents  $4,526,938   $4,616,694   $3,960,134 
Trade receivables – net   58,073,165    55,807,103    54,088,664 
Other receivables   605,019    476,480    754,889 
Inventories   86,478,155    85,237,042    86,438,290 
Income tax receivable   56,540    -    7,039 
Deferred income taxes   1,291,907    1,291,907    1,104,050 
Prepaid expenses   2,672,643    2,553,442    2,657,619 
Total current assets   153,704,367    149,982,668    149,010,685 
FIXED ASSETS – net   25,258,833    26,264,641    27,641,771 
IDENTIFIED INTANGIBLES   36,615,202    36,681,644    36,741,214 
OTHER ASSETS   269,620    299,490    348,958 
TOTAL ASSETS  $215,848,022   $213,228,443   $213,742,628 
                
                
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:               
                
CURRENT LIABILITIES:               
Accounts payable  $19,436,481   $15,116,131   $18,433,803 
Accrued expenses:               
Taxes - other   521,327    532,470    539,919 
Other   6,596,140    9,561,139    7,272,867 
Total current liabilities   26,553,948    25,209,740    26,246,589 
                
LONG TERM DEBT   35,593,360    36,270,373    43,359,640 
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES   12,928,048    12,928,048    11,750,718 
DEFERRED LIABILITIES   389,208    472,364    293,823 
TOTAL LIABILITIES   75,464,564    74,880,525    81,650,770 
                
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:               
Common stock, no par value;               
25,000,000 shares authorized; issued and outstanding June 30, 2015 - 7,562,069; December 31, 2014 - 7,550,126; June 30, 2014 - 7,543,210   70,667,372    70,460,672    70,304,984 
Retained earnings   69,716,086    67,887,246    61,786,874 
                
Total shareholders' equity   140,383,458    138,347,918    132,091,858 
                
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY  $215,848,022   $213,228,443   $213,742,628 

 

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Rocky Brands, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

 

   Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended 
   June 30,   June 30, 
   2015   2014   2015   2014 
NET SALES  $68,583,196   $68,822,520   $134,034,499   $134,605,804 
                     
COST OF GOODS SOLD   45,934,563    46,236,858    89,414,556    90,166,993 
                     
GROSS MARGIN   22,648,633    22,585,662    44,619,943    44,438,811 
                     
SELLING, GENERAL AND                    
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES   19,395,298    20,041,283    38,963,245    40,556,822 
                     
INCOME FROM OPERATIONS   3,253,335    2,544,379    5,656,698    3,881,989 
                     
OTHER INCOME AND (EXPENSES):                    
Interest expense   (176,186)   (225,299)   (341,262)   (443,972)
Other – net   4,524    6,381    (58,816)   232 
Total other - net   (171,662)   (218,918)   (400,078)   (443,740)
                     
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES   3,081,673    2,325,461    5,256,620    3,438,249 
                     
INCOME TAX EXPENSE   1,079,000    814,000    1,840,000    1,203,000 
                     
NET INCOME  $2,002,673   $1,511,461   $3,416,620   $2,235,249 
                     
INCOME PER SHARE                    
Basic  $0.26   $0.20   $0.45   $0.30 
Diluted  $0.26   $0.20   $0.45   $0.30 
                     
WEIGHTED AVERAGE NUMBER OF                    
COMMON SHARES OUTSTANDING                    
Basic   7,561,850    7,543,173    7,560,603    7,541,462 
Diluted   7,578,713    7,545,319    7,572,467    7,542,871 

 

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