Under Armour first quarter earnings beat the Street

Baltimore performance apparel maker boosts earnings forecast for year

Under Armour Inc., the Baltimore-based performance apparel maker, beat Wall Street analysts' expectations by posting higher than expected earnings for the first quarter of 2011. It also boosted its revenue and profit forecasts for the full year.

The company said Tuesday that it saw strength in sales of men's, women's and youth apparel lines in the first quarter, which ended March 31. In that quarter, Under Armour for the first time began selling a line of cotton T-shirts — the fabric is known as "Charged Cotton" — to target consumers who prefer cotton to synthetic workout apparel.

Revenues in the quarter jumped 36 percent, to $312 million from $229.4 million from the year-earlier period. Net income rose to $12.1 million, compared with $7.2 million in the year-earlier period. The company reported diluted earnings per share of 23 cents; analysts polled by MarketWatch had expected 19 cents per diluted share.

Under Armour forecast net revenues up to $1.39 billion, topping its earlier forecast of up to $1.35 billion for 2011. The company also boosted its profit expectation for the year, from around $147 million to $153 million.

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