The frigid winter weather at the start of this year helped freeze earnings for Milwaukee-based shoe manufactuer Weyco Group Inc.
The company today reported first quarter net earnings of $3.2 million, virtually the same as its first quarter net earnings for 2013. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were 29 cents.
“While first quarter sales of our BOGS winter boots benefited from the long harsh winter in the U.S. and Canada, we believe the weather slowed the overall retail environment and challenged our retail and wholesale shoe businesses,” said Thomas W. Florsheim Jr., the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We are very pleased that despite these challenges, our Nunn Bush and Florsheim brands posted gains for the quarter. We are also encouraged by the improvement in our Australian operations where we saw strong gains in both its retail and wholesale businesses.”
Net sales for the first quarter of 2014 were $74.9 million, an increase of 2 percent compared to 2013 net sales of $73.6 million.
