Reebok profits soar in fourth quarter `02
The US athletic footwear and apparel giant Reebok has posted healthy profits for the full year and fourth quarter 2002.
Earnings came in $132 million or $2.04 a share – a full 23% up on the year before - while sales rose 5% to $3.12 billion. Reebok brand sales meanwhile increased 6% to $2.59 billion, with the remainder being made up by smaller business units such as Rockport, Ralph Lauren Footwear and the Greg Norman Collection. An 11% increase was seen in the worldwide backlog of open customer orders for delivery in the first half of 2003.
On a quarterly basis, the results were even more encouraging, with a three-fold increase being seen in profits to $16 million or 27 cents per share. Sales for the fourth quarter were up 15% on the year before to $763 million as US apparel sales (up 48% to $145 million) and international sales of Reebok branded products (up 13% to $287 million) came in well ahead of expectations.
