American apparel brand Levi Strauss has announced an 8% increase in net revenues to $1.44bn for the second quarter (Q2) of the fiscal year 2024 (FY24), compared to $1.33bn in the same period of the previous year.
In the Americas, the company saw a significant 17% increase in net revenues on a reported basis.
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Europe experienced a slight 2% decrease, while Asia’s revenues remained stable, reporting a 6% increase on a constant-currency basis.
Other brands also enjoyed a 10% growth over the quarter.
Levi Strauss’ direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels and wholesale operations both contributed positively, with 8% and 7% growth respectively on a reported basis.
The company’s net income for the quarter, which ended on 26 May 2024, reached $18m, marking a turnaround from a $2m net loss in the second quarter of the previous year.
Its diluted earnings per share improved to $0.04, up from a loss per share in Q2 2023.
The company’s operating margin also increased to 1.5%, driven by higher net revenue and gross margin.
Its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin saw a substantial rise to 6.0% from 2.4% in 2023.
Levi Strauss’s gross margin improved to 60.5%, a 180 basis point increase, primarily due to lower product costs and a favourable mix shift despite currency exchange impacts.
The company’s selling, general and administrative expenses rose to $795m from $768m in the same quarter of the previous year.
Levi Strauss president and CEO Michelle Gass said: “We delivered another strong quarter driven by the Levi’s brand’s prominence at the centre of culture, a robust pipeline of newness and innovation, and continued momentum in our global direct-to-consumer channel.
“Our amplified focus on women’s and denim lifestyle is delivering outsized growth and driving meaningful market share gains. Our transformational pivot to operating as a DTC-first company is yielding positive results around the world, giving me great confidence that we will achieve accelerated, profitable growth for the rest of the year and beyond.”
Levi Strauss reaffirms its full-year 2024 guidance, expecting reported net revenues to increase by 1% to 3% year-oon-year.
Adjusted diluted EPS [earnings per share] is projected to be between $1.17 and $1.27.
