VF Corp. Q3 Profit Down; Increases Quarterly Dividend By 16%

(RTTNews) - VF Corp. (VFC) reported that its third-quarter 2015 net income decreased by 2% from last year. But, quarterly dividend has been increased by 16 percent to $0.37 per share.

Quarterly net income decreased to $459.86 million or $1.07 per share from $470.53 million or $1.08 per share in last year.

Earnings per share rose 14 percent on a currency neutral basis compared with last year's same period.

Total revenues for the quarter grew 3% to $3.61 billion from $3.52 billion in the prior year. Revenue increased 8 percent on a currency neutral basis driven by double-digit growth in our Outdoor & Action Sports coalition and strength in our Jeanswear coalition, and our international and direct-to-consumer businesses.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.12 per share and revenues of $3.68 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for 2015, on a currency neutral basis, is expected to be up 7.5 percent or up about 3 percent reported basis. There is no change to the expectation that currency neutral earnings per share will increase by 15 percent compared to an adjusted earnings per share of $3.08 in 2014. Due to approximately $0.04 per share of greater than expected negative changes in foreign currency during the third quarter, reported earnings for the full year are now anticipated to increase by approximately 3 percent to $3.18 compared to an adjusted earnings per share of $3.08 in 2014.

On October 20, 2015, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, reflecting a 16 percent increase over the previous quarter's dividend. This represents the company's 43rd consecutive year in which the annual dividend has increased. This dividend will be payable on December 18, 2015 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 8, 2015.