The company’s Q4 ongoing total revenue saw a 3.3% rise on a constant currency basis. However, total revenue reached $494.7m, marking a decrease of 6.1% from the $526.7m recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.
Despite this downturn, Wolverine’s Work Group division experienced a significant revenue increase of 20.6%, reaching $151.1m in the quarter. This was offset by declines in its Active Group and Other revenue streams, which fell by 2.8% and a staggering 80.2% respectively.
Wolverine Worldwide president and chief executive officer Chris Hufnagel said: “A year ago, we outlined an ambitious turnaround strategy composed of three chapters: stabilisation, transformation, and inflection. We shared a plan to meaningfully strengthen the company’s balance sheet, expand profitability, and sequentially improve revenue trends – culminating with an inflection to growth in the final quarter of 2024.
“I’m pleased to report that we accomplished all of these objectives. In the fourth quarter, we exceeded our expectations for revenue and earnings and inflected to growth as a company – delivering better-than-anticipated results for 2024.”
Key metrics from Q4 FY24
The fourth quarter, which concluded on 28 December 2024, saw the company achieve net earnings of $25.3m. This is a notable turnaround from the net loss of $90.6m reported in the same period of the prior year.
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) also reflected this positive shift, registering at $0.29, a substantial improvement of 125.2% from the loss per share of $1.15 in the prior year’s quarter.
The company’s gross profit for Q4 FY24 stood at $217.7m, an increase from $193.0m in the last fiscal year’s equivalent quarter.
Its gross margin also saw an impressive rise to 44.0%, up 740 basis points from 36.6% in the previous fiscal year’s same period. This improvement was largely attributed to reduced supply chain and product costs, as well as lower sales of end-of-life inventory.
Operating expenses for Wolverine Worldwide showed a significant reduction, dropping by 53.2% to $177.9m in Q4 FY24 compared with $379.9m in Q4 FY23.
At the end of the quarter, inventory levels were reported at $241m, a decrease of approximately 35.6% or $133m when compared to the previous year.
The company’s net debt also saw a decline, standing at $496m, down by roughly 33.1% or $246m compared to the prior year.
FY24 performance
Looking at the full year of 2024, Wolverine Worldwide’s revenue totalled $1.75bn, which is down by 21.8% from $2.24bn in the previous fiscal year.
