BALTIMORE _ Under Armour shares plunged 24 percent after the Baltimore-based sports apparel maker reported fourth-quarter results Tuesday that missed Wall Street expectations.
The company blamed a challenging retail environment in the crucial end-of-year selling period for the weaker-than-expected sales and earnings. The company does, however, continues to grow, reaching a record $4.8 billion in sales for 2016, up 22 percent from the prior year.
In the crucial October-to-December holiday quarter, though, sales only rose 12 percent to $1.3 billion and its profit slipped to $104.9 million from $105.6 million in the same period last year. Per share earnings dipped a penny to 23 cents each.
Analysts had expected Under Armour to earn 25 cents per share and post sales of $1.4 billion.
Under Armour shares were down $7.01 at $21.93 each in late morning trading.
Analysts had expected Under Armour profit margins to be weaker because of deep promotions introduced in the October-through-December period that have continued into January.
"We are incredibly proud that in 2016, we once again posted record revenue and earnings, however, numerous challenges and disruptions in North American retail tempered our fourth quarter results," said Kevin Plank, Under Armour's chairman and CEO, in a statement.
Plank said he felt confident "in our ability to navigate the current retail environment," because of the strength of the Under Armour brand and continued investments in the fastest growing parts of the business, footwear, international sales and sales through the brand's own stores and websites.
International sales jumped 55 percent during the fourth quarter and made up 16 percent of total revenues. Footwear and women's merchandise each hit the $1 billion mark last year, the company said.
Under Armour is on track to reach sales of nearly $5.4 billion this year, the company said.
The company also announced that Chip Molloy, chief financial officer, has decided to leave the company for personal reasons. David Bergman, senior vice president of corporate finance, will step in as acting CFO effective Feb. 3.
