Blanks are big business for Gildan
12/12/2008
Montreal-based Gildan Activewear has announced its financial results for its fourth quarter and the full fiscal year, which ended on October 5, 2008.
The company also provided earnings guidance for fiscal 2009 based on assuming a continuation of current negative market conditions, which it said were significantly impacting its results in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.
Gildan believes that, while the current outlook for business conditions is "uniquely challenging", its large-scale, vertically-integrated, strategically-located manufacturing facilities, together with a strong cash flow and low financial leverage, position it well to successfully achieve its long-term strategic growth objectives.
The company, which specialises in selling large-volume T-shirts, fleece jackets and sports shirts as undecorated blanks for screenprinting companies to print logos and brand-names onto them, achieved full fiscal year sales of US$1.2 billion, up 29.6 % from the year before. It attributed the increase to its acquisition of US-based hosiery and apparel manufacturer Prewett in October 2007, an increase of approximately 6.7% in activewear selling prices and a 10.2% increase in unit sales volumes for activewear and underwear.
It achieved earnings of US $144.6 million on this sales figure.
Nevertheless, in the immediate aftermath of announcing its results, the company's share-price fell sharply on the Toronto stock exchange and it said it would have to shed 400 jobs between now and the end of February, with a further 400 to go before the end of June.
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