Rocky Brands reports Q1 EPS (5c), consensus 5c

Reports Q1 revenue $110.4M, consensus $124.4M. "Consumer demand for our brands remains healthy and our gross margins are up significantly year-over-year despite some industry headwinds that are pressuring our top-line," said Jason Brooks,CEO. "We experienced positive sell-through with many of our key accounts during the first quarter. Unfortunately, our Wholesale performance didn’t translate into increased sell-in as many of our retail partners are in the process of working down elevated inventory levels and have recently adopted a more cautious approach to reorders due to the current economic backdrop. In response to more challenging market conditions, we are taking actions to reduce expenses and protect profitability. We also generated over $2 million in annualized interest expense savings by utilizing the proceeds from our sale of the Servus brand in March to pay down more than $17 million on our senior term loan and credit facility. While the year has started slower than expected, we are confident that the strength of our brand portfolio has the Company positioned to accelerate growth once the operating environment improves."