Steve Madden on Wednesday reported sales and earnings for 2023 that beat expectations.
In the fourth quarter, the company reported revenues of $519.7 million, up 10.4 percent compared to the same quarter in 2022. Adjusted net income was $45 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, compared to $33.7 million and $0.44 per diluted share the prior year. Sales and profits were ahead of what analysts surveyed by Yahoo were looking for: $511.97 million in revenues and $0.57 in EPS.
The wholesale channel, which has been particularly challenged throughout 2023, showed signs of improvement in Q4, with revenues in that channel up 4.9 percent in Q4 to $354.8 million. Wholesale footwear revenue was down 0.4 percent, offset by wholesale accessories and apparel revenues, which was up 56.5 percent. Direct-to-consumer revenue was up 1.9 percent to $162.3 million in Q4, driven by brick-and-mortar sales.
For the full year of 2023, revenues were down 6.6 percent to $2 billion, better than Steve Madden’s expected 7 percent decline. Adjusted diluted EPS was $2.45 per diluted share, better than the expected $2.40 per diluted share.
“We are pleased to have delivered fourth quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines,” said Steve Madden chairman and chief executive officer Edward Rosenfeld in a statement. “We saw organic revenue growth in both the wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, supplemented by the contribution from the newly acquired Almost Famous, and also drove strong improvement in Adjusted operating margin compared to the same period in the prior year.”
In an effort to continue expanding its apparel business, Steve Madden snapped up Almost Famous in October for $52 million, following its purchase of contemporary brand BB Dakota in 2019.
In a recent exclusive interview with FN, Steve Madden founder Steve Madden, Rosenfeld and president Amelia Newton Varela, said they are bullish on 2024. In a statement, Rosenfeld noted that “the operating environment remains choppy” looking ahead, but the company is confident that its “on-trend product assortments created by Steve and his team have us well-positioned for 2024.”
In 2024, Steve Madden expects revenues to increase 11 to 13 percent compared to the prior year. Diluted EPS is expected to be in the range of $2.55 to $2.65.
