VF Reports Q2 Financials

VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC) today reported financial results for its second quarter (Q2'FY25) ended September 28, 2024, and the Company's Board of Directors authorized a quarterly per share dividend of $0.09.

Bracken Darrell, President and CEO, said: "Our results in the quarter met our expectations and reflect a sequential and broad-based improvement in year-on-year trends. At the same time, we made further progress on our four Reinvent priorities and we are on track to reach our previously announced $300 million savings target by the end of FY25. Following the completion of the Supreme divestiture on October 1, 2024, we delivered on our commitment to pay down VF’s $1 billion term loan due December 2024. Our Americas regional platform is fully operational and showing promising signs, while the performance at Vans is improving. In summary, we advanced our turnaround plan towards a return to growth and strong, sustainable value creation at VF."

Q2'FY25 Income Statement Review

• Results demonstrated broad-based year-over-year sequential improvement relative to Q1'FY25, with all key metrics in line with, or above the company's expectations
• Revenue $2.8 billion, down 6% vs. last year, an improvement vs. Q1'FY25 down 10%
  • The North Face® down 3% (down 4% in constant dollars) as expected. This compares against a strong Q2'FY24 of up 19% (up 17% in constant dollars)
  • Vans® down 11% vs. last year, relative to Q1'FY25 down 21% vs. last year
• Gross margin 52.2%, up 120 basis points vs. last year
• Operating margin 9.9%, down 210 basis points vs. last year; adjusted operating margin down 60 basis points vs. last year to 11.4%
• Earnings (loss) per share (EPS) $0.52 vs. Q2'FY24 $(1.16); adjusted EPS $0.60 vs. Q2'FY24 $0.63

Balance Sheet Review

• Q2'FY25 ending inventories down 13% relative to the prior year
• Net debt at the end of Q2'FY25 was $5.7 billion, down by approximately $446 million relative to last year. Shortly after the fiscal quarter end, VF received $1.475 billion of net proceeds following the close of the Supreme sale, allowing VF to further reduce net debt.

Financial Outlook

• For Q3'FY25 VF expects the following on a continuing operations basis:
  • Revenue in the range of $2.7 billion to $2.75 billion, down 1% to down 3% year-over-year in reported dollars, inclusive of an expected negative FX impact of approximately 100 basis points
  • Adjusted operating income in the range of $170 million to $200 million (Q3'FY24: $218 million)
• For FY25 VF expects free cash flow from continuing operations plus proceeds from non-core physical asset sales of approximately $425 million, with core fundamentals in line with previous guidance. Relative to the original full year guidance of $600 million, the change reflects the sale of Supreme and additional reinvestment initiatives in the second half of FY25, which are partially offset by the greater than anticipated proceeds for non-core physical asset sales.

Dividend Declared

VF’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share. This dividend will be payable on December 18, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 10, 2024. Subject to approval by its Board of Directors, VF intends to continue to pay quarterly dividends.

Webcast Information

VF will host its second quarter fiscal 2025 conference call beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time today. The conference call will be broadcast live via the Internet, accessible at ir.vfc.com. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, an archived version will be available at the same location.

VF will host its FY25 Investor Day, the first of a two-part investor event, on October 30, 2024. The event will be broadcast live on the Internet, accessible at vfc.com/investor-day-2024 beginning at approximately 10:00am until 12:00pm ET on October 30, 2024. An archived version will be available at the same location following the event.

About VF

Founded in 1899, VF Corporation is one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies connecting people to the lifestyles, activities and experiences they cherish most through a family of iconic outdoor, active and workwear brands including The North Face®, Vans®, Timberland® and Dickies®. Our purpose is to power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet. We connect this purpose with a relentless drive to succeed to create value for all stakeholders and use our company as a force for good. For more information, please visit vfc.com.

Financial Presentation Disclosure

All per share amounts are presented on a diluted basis. This release refers to “reported” and “constant dollar” or “constant currency” amounts, terms that are described under the heading below “Constant Currency - Excluding the Impact of Foreign Currency.” Unless otherwise noted, “reported” and “constant dollar” or “constant currency” amounts are the same. This release also refers to “continuing” and “discontinued” operations amounts, which are concepts described under the heading “Discontinued Operations - Supreme.” Unless otherwise noted, results presented are based on continuing operations. This release also refers to “adjusted” amounts, a term that is described under the heading below “Adjusted Amounts - Excluding Reinvent and Transaction and Deal Related Activities.” Unless otherwise noted, “reported” and “adjusted” amounts are the same.

Discontinued Operations - Supreme

On July 16, 2024, VF entered into a definitive Stock and Asset Purchase Agreement with EssilorLuxottica S.A. to sell the Supreme® brand business (“Supreme”). On October 1, 2024, VF completed the sale of Supreme. Accordingly, the company has reported the related held-for-sale assets and liabilities as assets and liabilities of discontinued operations and included the operating results and cash flows of the business in discontinued operations for all periods presented.

Constant Currency - Excluding the Impact of Foreign Currency

This release refers to “reported” amounts in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), which include translation and transactional impacts from foreign currency exchange rates. This release also refers to both “constant dollar” and “constant currency” amounts, which exclude the impact of translating foreign currencies into U.S. dollars. Reconciliations of GAAP measures to constant currency amounts are presented in the supplemental financial information included with this release, which identifies and quantifies all excluded items, and provides management’s view of why this information is useful to investors.

Adjusted Amounts - Excluding Reinvent and Transaction and Deal Related Activities

The adjusted amounts in this release exclude costs related to Reinvent, VF's transformation program. Costs, including restructuring charges and project-related costs, were approximately $41 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 and $59 million in the first six months of fiscal 2025.

The adjusted amounts in this release exclude transaction and deal related activities associated with the review of strategic alternatives for the Global Packs business, consisting of the Kipling®, Eastpak® and JanSport® brands. Total transaction and deal related activities include costs of approximately $0.5 million in the first six months of fiscal 2025.

Combined, the above items negatively impacted earnings per share by $0.08 during the second quarter of fiscal 2025 and $0.11 during the first six months of fiscal 2025. All adjusted amounts referenced herein exclude the effects of these amounts.

Reconciliations of measures calculated in accordance with GAAP to adjusted amounts are presented in the supplemental financial information included with this release, which identifies and quantifies all excluded items, and provides management’s view of why this information is useful to investors. The company also provides guidance on a non-GAAP basis as we cannot predict certain elements which are included in reported GAAP results. VF defines free cash flow as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures and software purchases and defines net debt as short and long term borrowings less cash and cash equivalents.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements included in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are made based on VF's expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting VF and therefore involve several risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the fact that they use words such as “will,” “anticipate,” "believe," “estimate,” “expect,” “should,” and “may” and other words and terms of similar meaning or use of future dates, however, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. All statements regarding VF’s plans, objectives, projections and expectations relating to VF’s operations or financial performance, and assumptions related thereto are forward-looking statements. VF cautions that forward-looking statements are not guarantees and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. VF undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Potential risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results of operations or financial condition of VF to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the level of consumer demand for apparel and footwear; disruption to VF’s distribution system; changes in global economic conditions and the financial strength of VF’s consumers and customers, including as a result of current inflationary pressures; fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of raw materials and finished products; disruption and volatility in the global capital and credit markets; VF’s response to changing fashion trends, evolving consumer preferences and changing patterns of consumer behavior; VF's ability to maintain the image, health and equity of its brands, including through investment in brand building and product innovation; intense competition from online retailers and other direct-to-consumer business risks; increasing pressure on margins; retail industry changes and challenges; VF's ability to execute its Reinvent transformation program and other business priorities, including measures to streamline and right-size its cost base and strengthen the balance sheet while reducing leverage; VF’s ability to successfully establish a global commercial organization, and identify and capture efficiencies in its business model; any inability of VF or third parties on which it relies, to maintain the strength and security of information technology systems; the fact that VF’s facilities and systems, and those of third parties on which we rely, are frequent targets of cyber-attacks of varying levels of severity, and may in the future be vulnerable to such attacks, and any inability or failure by VF or such third parties to anticipate or detect data or information security breaches or other cyber-attacks, including the cyber incident that was reported by VF in December 2023, could result in data or financial loss, reputational harm, business disruption, damage to our relationships with customers, consumers, employees and third parties on which it relies, litigation, regulatory investigations, enforcement actions or other negative impacts; any inability by VF or third parties on which it relies to properly collect, use, manage and secure business, consumer and employee data and comply with privacy and security regulations; VF’s ability to adopt new technologies, including artificial intelligence, in a competitive and responsible manner; foreign currency fluctuations; stability of VF's vendors' manufacturing facilities and VF's ability to establish and maintain effective supply chain capabilities; continued use by VF’s suppliers of ethical business practices; VF’s ability to accurately forecast demand for products; actions of activist and other shareholders; VF's ability to recruit, develop or retain key executive or employee talent or successfully transition executives; continuity of members of VF’s management; changes in the availability and cost of labor; VF’s ability to protect trademarks and other intellectual property rights; possible goodwill and other asset impairment; maintenance by VF’s licensees and distributors of the value of VF’s brands; VF’s ability to execute acquisitions and dispositions, integrate acquisitions and manage its brand portfolio; VF's ability to realize benefits from the completed sale of the Supreme® brand business; business resiliency in response to natural or man-made economic, public health, cyber, political or environmental disruptions; changes in tax laws and additional tax liabilities; legal, regulatory, political, economic, and geopolitical risks, including those related to the current conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and tensions between the U.S. and China; changes to laws and regulations; adverse or unexpected weather conditions, including any potential effects from climate change; VF's indebtedness and its ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, if needed, could prevent VF from fulfilling its financial obligations; VF's ability to pay and declare dividends or repurchase its stock in the future; climate change and increased focus on environmental, social and governance issues; VF's ability to execute on its sustainability strategy and achieve its sustainability-related goals and targets; risks arising from the widespread outbreak of an illness or any other communicable disease, or any other public health crisis; and tax risks associated with the spin-off of the Jeanswear business completed in 2019. More information on potential factors that could affect VF’s financial results is included from time to time in VF’s public reports filed with the SEC, including VF’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Forms 8-K filed or furnished with the SEC.