Under Armour Raises Full-Year Outlook

Under Armour Inc. UA 14.71% has found a bright area in the retail industry, clocking 34% revenue increase thanks to large increases in athletic clothing and footwear. The strong second quarter led the firm to increase its prognosis -year sales. Shares, which have doubled within the past year, increased 15% to $69.55 in Thursday's trading. The results run counter to slow growth in retail sectors, where sales remain sluggish amid on-line competition and tight consumer budgets. The Baltimore-based company is riding what retail analysts expect to be multiple years of growth in athletic wear. Barclays analysts see U.S. retail sales of work out clothes increasing to approximately $100 billion by 2020, up from about $70 billion today. Over the years, Under Armour has built up its footwear offerings and expanded its fleet of theory stores, targeting new international marketplaces for a brand best known in the U.S. as a seller of performance athletic apparel. The result is that Under Armour is gaining strength in international and footwear sales, better positioning it to be a rival to larger competitors like Nike Inc. NKE 1.59% and Adidas AG ADS.XE 0.21% . The firm Thursday reported flat second quarter gain of $17.7 million on $609.7 million in revenue. Its international sales for the span more than doubled to $51.6 million, now accounting for roughly 8% of the company. North American sales, the bulk of Under Armour's business, rose. Footwear revenues, meanwhile, increased 34% to $109.5 million. Profits were compressed by higher expenses connected to investments in wearable technology linked to the firm's November acquisition along with spending new UnderArmour brand shops around. For 2014, the firm raised both its revenue and operating income prognosis. Under Armour is now anticipating just as much as a 29% increase in total year reven nike free 5.0 running shoe.e over this past year to $2.9 billion, compared with its previous outlook of up 25%. Under Armour Chief Executive Kevin Plank said that while the business continues to roll out new brand stores, it's still first and foremost a wholesale provider to leading sporting goods retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. and Sports Authority, where Under nike free run 3 uk.rmour is expecting to enlarge its footprint. In footwear, Under Armour continues to be increasing prices on some shoes and the firm noted it is seeing better sales on those versions, like the Under Armour Highlight Cleat, which now sells for $130 this past year upwards from $110,. mens nike free 4.0 v2 black. However, Under Armour is not hurrying into the global soccer marketplace, a playing field contested during the recent World Cup, particularly and Adidas. Mr. Plank hinted that Under Armour will not be much of a challenger at the next tournament in four years, either. "We're taking a long-term 10- to 20-year outlook of how Under Armour is going to function as the leading international football brand in the world," he said, referring to soccer.