Under Armor raises sales forecast as quarterly sales surge

Sports apparel manufacturer and retailer Under Armor Inc's quarterly revenue rose by than a third as it benefited from growing interest in fitness among women and young people, and the company raised its full-year sales forecast.

Shares of the Baltimore-based company were up 6.7 percent at $64.67 before the opening bell on Thursday. Up to Wednesday's close, the stock had risen 40 percent this year.

Under Armor makes performance-related sports clothing such as training t-shirts, warm-up jackets, footwear and swimwear.

The company's apparel sales jumped 35.4 percent to $420 million in the second quarter ended June, helped by a wider range of athletic wear.

Apparel makes up about 70 percent of total revenue.

Under Armor's clothing lines include the HeatGear range, which draws moisture away from the body to help the wearer stay cool and dry, and the ColdGear Infrared range, which uses a ceramic coating to retain body heat in cold weather.

Under Armor, which has beaten Wall Street profit forecasts for the past two years, raised its full-year sales forecast to $2.98 billion-$3.0 billion, from $2.88 billion-$2.91 billion.

Analysts on average expected $2.91 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Footwear sales rose 34 percent to $109.5 million, led by sports cleats and SpeedForm Apollo running shoes.

Under Armor's net profit rose marginally to $17.7 million, or 8 cents per share, from $17.6 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 34 percent to $609.7 million.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 7 cents per share on revenue of $574 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Under Armor rival VF Corp said last week sales in its outdoor and action sports business rose 16 percent to $1.27 billion. (