Earnings Labs

Rocky Brands, Inc. (RCKY)

Q1 2011 Earnings Call· Tue, Apr 26, 2011

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Rocky Brands First Quarter Fiscal 2011 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Instructions will be provided at that time for you to queue up for questions. (Operator Instructions) I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded. And we’ll now turn the conference over to Brendon Frey of ICR. Brendon Frey – ICR, Inc.: Thanks. Before we begin, please note that today’s discussion including the Q&A period may contain forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on information and assumptions available at this time and are subject to change recent uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially. We assume no obligation to update such statements. For a complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties, please refer to today’s press release and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including Rocky’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31st, 2010. I’ll now turn the conference over to Mr. Mike Brooks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mike Brooks – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: Thank you and thanks for everyone for joining us this afternoon. With me on today’s call are David Sharp, President and Chief Operating Officer and Jim McDonald, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Thanks everyone for joining us on today’s call. We are very pleased with our first quarter results, which represent a very good start to the year. Our performance highlights the emphasis we have put on profitably growing our business by focusing on the expansion opportunities of our higher margin company-owned brands, reducing our retail operation, restructuring our retail operation,…

Operator

Operator

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Reed Anderson with D.A. Davidson. Please go ahead with your question. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Hi guys.

Mike Brooks

Analyst · D.A

Hey Reed. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Nice quarter.

Mike Brooks

Analyst · D.A

Thank you. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Couple of follow-up questions I guess, first off, Mike remind me the timing and magnitude of the price increases you’ve taken so far and also kind of what you are thinking as you look into early next year on that front.

Mike Brooks

Analyst · D.A

We took a price increase, Reed January 1st of 5%. And frankly we are evaluating whether we would take one, a second one this year or not and that hasn’t been determined this time. But I’m sure that we would be taking another one at the end of this year or the beginning of next year of ’12. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Okay. And then it was more or less across the board. That’s the thing.

Mike Brooks

Analyst · D.A

Yes, yes, about 5% across the board, yes. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Okay, good. And then you are talking, then also kind of shifting gears, looking at the Durango piece. You talked a lot about that and it’s great to see that new product, lot of demand there in the sell-through rate. What I’m curious about is I’m suspecting the majority of that is through existing customers. I mean that’s a very well defined channel. I’m wondering if there has been some broader distribution that’s helping or if that’s just literally the products doing so well on existing distribution. Just some color and that would be helpful, please.

Mike Brooks

Analyst · D.A

Reed, currently we are selling to customers that we have sold in the past. And we are not reaching significantly any new distribution. So, we are stealing shelf space from our competitors in existing distribution. However, we recently engaged with a research firm who helped us to explore what Durango could be in the future in terms of expansion. And back in the last 90s, up to 2000, 2001 Durango’s business was, it enjoyed a large business in the fashion and in distribution, particularly in the I-94 Corridor. So we are developing product right now that will help us approach that market once again. And we are pretty optimistic the trade and consumers still remember the Durango brand for that kind of product. The former owners of Durango, EJ Footwear jettisoned that business before we purchased it in 2005. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Sure, it’s great. In terms of inventory, lot of people in your industry, in footwear and apparel companies are reporting big inventory increase. So yours actually was relatively modest by some standards. And I’m just wondering if, I mean, do you feel like you have enough inventory or is that, I guess, are we kind of at a point where we are kind of building a little bit higher level of inventory to support some of your initiatives, it’s going to level off, just a sense of where we are as you look out the next couple of quarters, what we might look like a year from now?

Mike Brooks

Analyst · D.A

Reed, I think we are right where we should be. And last year as we reported we struggled like many others to get adequate inventory from China. We were transitioning more and more production to our Caribbean, Dominican plant. So, and of course, the big change in the military, which was the DoD business, was make and ship. So, we were holding very little inventory there. So, I feel a lot better this year than we were last year. And there were many things out of our control and we lost sales because we had not enough inventory last year. We are trying to balance that. And I think we are in pretty good shape. David, I don’t know (indiscernible)… Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: And you feel that inventories at retail are very clean at this point as well?

Mike Brooks

Analyst · D.A

Yeah, retail sales held up pretty well. I don’t see any push back. We made another running change over the last year and a year, year and a half to filling our independent back with reorders, every two weeks, every 14 days and that’s, it was our inventory out and we think theirs as well. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Good. And the Dominican facility, the expansion there, where we are at and is that up and running, are we getting, what’s the timing on getting that?

Mike Brooks

Analyst · D.A

It was, we had to take over new buildings in the last 18 months, which we have completed, we are running both of those new buildings, making good quality footwear and it was difficult in the second half of last year to get there, but with happy report we are up and running and in good shape in the first quarter of this year. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Okay, good. And then just one more, I’m just curious at the Analyst Day you were talking about some of the things, the good things happening at Lehigh and how that business is shifting more, you’ve finally really seen the shift to the e-commerce piece there. I’m just curious is the transaction size look similar when somebody does an e-commerce order versus when you would sell to them on the site or is that actually a little bit bigger order or small, I’m just curious on that.

David Sharp

Analyst · D.A

No, transaction size at website. Reed Anderson – D.A. Davidson: Okay, good. All right well, that’s all I have. Thanks guy.

David Sharp

Analyst · D.A

Thanks Reed.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from Mitch Kummetz with Robert W. Baird. Please go ahead with your question. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Thanks and congratulation on the quarter. I have a handful of questions here. Let me start on the western business. David I think on the last conference call you had said you expect that business to be up high single-digits this year. It sounds like the bookings are coming in what you’d say 16% based on the Durango side. So, you are still looking for high singles or have your expectations improved since the last call on that piece of the business?

David Sharp

Analyst · Robert W

We get so much of our business is still at one. As I said, you know, I’ll be reluctant to say could be stronger than 9% 10% at this time. We actually could have much better picture in western in the first quarter we didn’t comment in the prepared thing about the Rocky western business. We have a new program that we hope to deliver in that quarter, but its now making in to the stores it came in late didn’t make the quarter end a pretty big program that we launched in Rocky Western Boots. And I think that for about the years that Rocky Western can also and the year in the strong single digits also. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Okay. That’s helpful. Thank you. And then Jim on the gross margin, could you break out gross margin by operating segment for the first quarter, you know, wholesale, retail and military

Jim McDonald

Analyst · Robert W

Yeah, sure. Gross margin on wholesale was 33.5%, retail was 49.6% and military was 13.2% or 36.8%. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Okay. So, when I look at the wholesale piece actually the wholesale and retail were up. So, how much of the improvement in wholesale was attributable to Dickies coming out of the mix this year versus last year versus price increases or anything else that might have moved that up?

Jim McDonald

Analyst · Robert W

I’d say about half that was attributable to each rep of about 140 basis points there on wholesale and we had higher average selling prices. We took our price increases we said in January, but we are still selling the goods that were in inventory last year, which we bought at a lower price. So, and then the other is the Dickies business, which was a net margin of about 20% versus our regular margin on wholesale on the low 40 on our company-owned brand. So it’s about 50/50 split I would say. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Okay, great. And then Mike I think you had said in your prepared remarks that you are expecting sales growth over the balance of this year. I don’t know if that you meant that in aggregate or growth in each of the next few quarters. You still have some tough comps on the military side and then you are also lapping to Dickies businesses. First of all clarify your comments and then there is something that you are seeing out there that, you know, acceleration some of the other pieces that would make up for the tough military comp in the Dickies loss?

Mike Brooks

Analyst · Robert W

I think I said on our wholesale brand. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Okay.

Mike Brooks

Analyst · Robert W

Specifically we don’t want to be too excited. I’m pleased we have been able to accomplish obviously lot of things out there in the marketplace without our control. So, but I think we are going to see on the wholesale side a sales increase this year led by all the Rocky brands and our owned brands. The sales increase that we gave up on Dickies is as we stated many times before just wasn’t profitable or at the same level as our owned brands and the military isn’t profitable either on the DoD business, but this special military business is quite profitable that we’re selling under the Rocky brand as well.

Jim McDonald

Analyst · Robert W

Okay. I think as we stated before we look at our retail business being relatively flat with last year and was down a little bit in the first quarter, but I think will be relatively flat as we move forward here and our military business now what we have in orders right now is in the neighborhood of about 2.5 million for the year unless we get some more… Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: DoD?

Jim McDonald

Analyst · Robert W

That DoD, right. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Right.

Jim McDonald

Analyst · Robert W

Tele segment and we did about 70 million last year. So we’re looking at about $15 million delta there. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Yeah. Okay, last question and I guess this one is for you Jim, on the interest expense, I think you had said previous call $1.5 million for the year you’re still looking for that or maybe something a little less at this point?

Jim McDonald

Analyst · Robert W

1.5 million? Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Yeah.

Jim McDonald

Analyst · Robert W

I think we are provided interest rates stay where they are at we might be a little bit less than that, but no not tremendously significant. Right now, we are paying our – we’re at the lowest point on interest spread, where the LIBOR plus 150 basis points. So I think we did 250,000, but this isn’t what our borrowings rather at their lowest. They will start to go up as we move towards second half of the year to fund our working capital for that period. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Okay. And yeah, let me ask one other question on the hunting business, I think on the last call to you, you said that you’re encouraged by how the bookings were looking on that business, I would imagine you have a pretty full fall order booking at this point or any comments you can make on that piece as you think about the back half of this year in terms of the pre-book?

Mike Brooks

Analyst · Robert W

Yeah, the bookings have come in pretty well. I think the sustained winter, the colder weather we had really our retails had a great season, particularly some of the key retailers we have had a great season with us. So the bookings are up, yeah, versus last year. Mitch Kummetz – Robert W. Baird: Okay, thanks. Good luck.

Mike Brooks

Analyst · Robert W

Thanks Mitch.

Operator

Operator

(Operator Instructions) I have no further questions in queue. I’d like to turn the call back over to management for closing remarks. Mike Brooks – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: Well, we thank you very much for listening in and David and Jim look forward to speaking to you in about 90 days. Thank you very much.

Operator

Operator

This concludes today’s teleconference.