Gildan swings to profit on strong activewear sales

By

Robin Driver

Published
May 6, 2021

Gildan Activewear Inc., the Montreal-based owner of brands including Gildan and American Apparel, announced Q1 earnings of $98.5 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, on Wednesday, as solid progress in its activewear segment drove an uptick in the company’s sales. In the same period in the previous year, the company had posted a net loss of $99.3 million, or $0.50 per diluted share.

 
For the first quarter ended April 4, 2021, the company’s net sales totaled $589.6 million, representing a 28.4% increase compared to $459.1 million in the prior-year period. Sales in the group’s activewear segment rose 30.1% to $484.6 million, while the hosiery and underwear category saw a 21.4% year-over-year increase, achieving quarterly revenues of $105.0 million.
 
According to the company, the progress in its activewear revenues was driven by double-digit unit sales volume growth in imprintables in both its North American and international markets, as well as strong retail sales.

In the hosiery and underwear category, growth was principally driven by underwear sales, which reflected strong double-digit volume growth compared to both the first quarters of 2020 and 2019.
 
“Our first-quarter results reflected a strong start to 2021 as continued benefits from our Back to Basics strategy supported sell-through across all channels and drove strong operating margin performance, allowing us to deliver net earnings significantly above prior year and first quarter 2019 levels,” said Gildan president and CEO Glenn J. Chamandy in a release.
 
“While large events have not yet restarted, we continue to be encouraged by the strength of our imprintables business and on the retail side we were pleased with strong double-digit growth in underwear and activewear sales compared to the first quarters of 2020 and 2019,” he added.
 
The company has not provided financial guidance for the second quarter or the full fiscal year 2021.