By Staff Report Thursday, May 25th, 2017

Updated at 4:20 p.m. May 26:

Deckers Brands shares jumped more than 18.8 percent to $67.21 on May 26 following an earnings announcement that beat analyst expectations and continued to climb in after-hours trading.

Deckers reported a net loss of $15.76 million for its fourth quarter, bringing it to a net loss of $12.7 million for its full fiscal year 2017, compared to $34.6 million in net income the prior year.

Sales for the Goleta footwear company slipped 2.4 percent compared to the previous fourth quarter to about $369.5 million and are down 4.5 percent for the full year to $1.79 billion.

Fourth quarter revenues were ahead of projections, thanks to better performance from its Hoka One One and Ugg products and direct-to-consumer sales, said Chief Financial Officer Tom George, partially offset by headwinds from international exchange rates.

Sales, general and administrative expenses rose 3.8 percent compared to the same quarter last year, and 22.3 percent year-over-year, for an operating loss of $30.9 million, down from $27.9 million for the previous quarter.

The company expects to see its operating profits improve by $100 million by its fiscal year 2020, thanks to a $150 million cost-savings plan it began to implement in 2017. Net SG&A expenses should fall by $10 million during the current fiscal year, said President and CEO Dave Powers, and sales are expected to rise to $2 billion by 2020 despite a forecast for flat or slightly decreased revenues for fiscal 2018.

“The focus for us around driving growth and getting to that $2 billion mark is really around the Hoka and Ugg brands,” Powers said, including e-commerce, men’s Ugg sales, growth in Germany and China and investments in marketing internationally. “We’re conservative at this point based off the challenges in the market we see in the short term.”

Ugg sales decreased nearly 5 percent for the full year to $1.45 billion, alongside an 11.5 percent decline in Teva sales and a 13.6 percent decline in Sanuk sales. Its other brands saw an increase to $129.6 million, driven by a $9.3 million gain for its Hoka One One products.

Direct-to-consumer sales saw continued gains during the quarter, while wholesale numbers fell. With 160 stores globally, Deckers expects to continue to slim its operations and be at 125 stores globally by its 2020 milestone.

Net loss per share on a generally accepted accounting principles basis fell to 18 cents for the year, compared to earnings of $3.70 cents in fiscal year 2016. As of March 31, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $291.8 million, up from $246 million the prior year, with $159 million in current liabilities.

Powers said he could not comment on the strategic review process by its board of directors, which includes investigating options for the sale of the company, as it is ongoing.

Shares fell 2.6 percent ahead of the earnings announcement May 25, ending the day at $56.57. The stock rose 13.5 percent in after hours trading as the market reacted to a non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.82 for the year and 11 cents for the quarter.

• Contact Marissa Nall at [email protected].