Wolverine Worldwide Inc. 2Q profit falls 14 percent

ROCKFORD, Mich. (AP) -- Shoe marketer Wolverine Worldwide Inc. said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit fell 14 percent, pulled down by flat sales and higher product costs. But the company reaffirmed its outlook for earnings for the year, leaving plenty of room that it will beat Wall Street estimates. Its shares rose almost 5 percent in morning trading. For the quarter ended June 16, the Rockford, Mich.-based company reported net income of $20.5 million, or 42 cents per share, down from $24 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue edged up to $312.7 million from $310.1 million. The company attributed the lackluster sales increase to tough comparisons to a year-ago period where sales jumped 20 percent, tough economic conditions in Europe and the effects of unfavorable exchange rates. The results fell slightly short of Wall Street predictions. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 44 cents per share on $314.4 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll. Wolverine said higher product costs and an unfavorable sales mix, including steep reductions to prices of fall and winter items stemming from warmer-than-usual weather, reduced its gross margins. Based on its sales expectations for the rest of the year, Wolverine backed its full-year guidance of $2.70 to $2.80 in adjusted earnings per share and $1.46 billion to $1.5 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by FactSet expect, on average, earnings of $2.71 per share on $1.6 billion in revenue. Published: Thu, Jul 12, 2012