Dive Brief:
- Wolverine World Wide, Inc. reported a Q4 revenue of approximately $527 million, according to a Monday press release on its preliminary 2023 financial results.
- Full year preliminary revenue was approximately $2.24 billion, and full year and Q4 adjusted gross margins were above 39% and 36%, respectively. The company noted that both revenue and margins were in line with its November guidance.
- Compared to November guidance, inventory was at approximately $460 million versus $490 million, and net debt was approximately $750 million compared to $850 million.
Dive Insight:
Wolverine’s latest earnings reflect some of the impact from the changes the company has made over the past year.
In February 2023, it sold its Keds brand to Designer Brands. Then in September, the company announced the sale of its U.S. leathers business to New Balance and the sale of its Hush Puppies intellectual property in China to sublicensee Beijing Jiaman Dress Co., Ltd. The combined sale of the three businesses garnered $227 million in proceeds, per Monday’s press release, which also confirmed that Wolverine’s “progress on pursuing strategic alternatives for the Sperry brand remains on track.”
On Dec. 28, 2023, the company finalized the sale of its Kentucky distribution center, which added an additional $23 million in cash to its Q4 bottom line, per the release. Both the Saucony and Sperry brands will continue to operate out of that facility under a lease agreement, the company said.
In total for fiscal 2023, Wolverine “executed asset monetization transactions generating nearly $250 million in cash, of which $91 million was received in the fourth quarter of 2023,” per the release. These actions “simplified the business and enabled debt paydown,” according to the company.
The firm has also seen multiple personnel changes in the past several months, including the firing of former CEO Brendan Hoffman in August and the December appointment of Bishu Jayaram to the newly created role of chief supply chain officer. It also announced a global workforce restructuring in November.
“We’re executing the stabilization phase of our strategic transformation with tremendous pace, while redesigning Wolverine Worldwide for the future,” Chris Hufnagel, president and CEO, said in the release. “For the fourth quarter and full year, we expect to deliver financial results in line with our guidance — while achieving better-than-anticipated year-end debt and inventory levels. Importantly, the performance of our direct-to-consumer business met our expectations for the critical holiday period as well — led by Merrell, Saucony, Sweaty Betty and Wolverine.”
The preliminary, unaudited results for fiscal 2023 were filed in advance of the company’s Monday ICR 2024 Conference presentation. Wolverine stated it expects to report final, audited results for Q4 and fiscal 2023 year, as well as provide its financial outlook and strategic priorities for fiscal 2024, in February 2024.
