Casual footwear brand Crocs is anticipating a record-breaking revenue figure for the fiscal year 2023 (FY23) of $3.95bn - an 11% increase from the previous year.
This growth surpasses the company's initial forecasts. It has been driven by the growth in sales of the Crocs brand, which exceeded $3bn, and revenue for HEYDUDE - purchased by Crocs in 2021 - which has reached $949m.
The fourth quarter (Q4) of FY23 is set to witness a revenue increase of more than 1% compared to FY22, despite the company's earlier predictions of a decline.
The Crocs brand is leading this surge in the quarter with almost 10% growth, while HEYDUDE has experienced a 19% decrease although still performing ahead of guidance.
The company has reduced its net debt by $277m and has also repurchased $25m worth of stock in Q4.
For 2024, the company forecasts revenue growth of 3% to 5%, with the Crocs brand growing by 4% to 6% and HEYDUDE remaining stable or experiencing a slight increase.
Crocs also anticipates an improvement in gross margin for 2024, with plans to re-invest the gains into brand-enhancing and strategic selling, general and administrative expenses investments.
Crocs chief executive officer Andrew Rees stated: "2023 was a strong year for Crocs Inc that culminated in a successful holiday season with market share gains for both brands. Fourth-quarter revenue is now expected to exceed our former guidance and we are raising our operating margin target for the year.
“Our strong free cash-flow generation enabled us to pay down $277m in net debt in the quarter, bringing our full-year debt pay down to $665m.
"We are coming into 2024 from a position of strength and are making the decision to re-invest our best-in-class margins into focused strategic investments as we continue to set ourselves up for long-term, durable growth."