K Swiss Inc

K-Swiss Inc., Westlake Village, announced authorization by the board of directors to repurchase up to $25 million worth of the company's Class A common stock. Last year, the company bought back $20 million in common stock. The company's share price has dropped about 20% over the last three months. K-Swiss designs and markets athletic footwear for sports and fitness activities and for children.

Talk about a tough act to follow. K-Swiss Inc. was walking tall back in April, when the Westlake Village maker of high-end athletic shoes delighted investors by announcing first-quarter earnings of $1.15 per share--about 40 cents above consensus estimates. The numbers came on the heels of a banner year in 1998, when K-Swiss earnings nearly tripled over the previous year to $12.5 million.

K-Swiss Inc., Westlake Village, announced that the board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.015 per share for the third quarter ending Sept. 30. The dividend, which equates to an annual rate of $0.06 per share, is payable Oct. 15 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 30. The quarterly cash dividend rate represents a 50% increase over the prior year. In February, the company announced a two-for-one stock split and a subsequent increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.

A photo of Pope John Paul II wearing K-Swiss sneakers is on prominent display at the shoe manufacturer's corporate headquarters in Westlake Village. But it's not just the pope (photographed during a 1996 hiking jaunt in Colorado) who is a fan. Thanks to a successful marketing campaign aimed at young, fashion-conscious consumers, K-Swiss sales and stock prices are soaring toward the heavens, and investors have been turned into true believers.

K-Swiss Inc. shares rose last week on news that the company's fourth-quarter earnings had more than doubled and the firm plans a 2-for-1 stock split and a 50% dividend increase. Shares of K-Swiss, a maker of athletic shoes, have more than doubled in value in the past year, the company said. K-Swiss said net income for the fourth quarter rose to $3.72 million, or 65 cents a share, from $1.3 million, or 22 cents a share, in the same quarter of 1997.

K-Swiss Inc. shares rose 23% on Tuesday after the company said its earnings topped expectations and that it would split its stock 2 for 1 and increase its dividend. K-Swiss shares gained $7.88 to close at $42.50 on Nasdaq. The stock's price has more than doubled in the last year. Late Monday, K-Swiss, based in Westlake Village, said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled and announced the stock split and 50% dividend increase. The report was made after the close of trading.

The board of directors of Westlake Village-based K-Swiss Inc. has declared a quarterly dividend of 2 cents per share payable Jan. 15 to stockholders of record Dec. 31, announced Steven Nichols, board chairman and president. In February 1994, K-Swiss initiated a cash divided program for the first time, payable at an annual rate of 8 cents per common share. K-Swiss designs, develops and markets a wide range of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories for high performance sports and fitness activities.

K-Swiss Inc. in Westlake Village announced third-quarter net earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30 of just over $3 million or 53 cents per diluted share, an increase of 76.8% from the same quarter a year earlier, when net income was $1.7 million or 29 cents per diluted share. Revenues for the quarter increased 16.4% to $38.2 million, from $32.8 million the previous year. K-Swiss designs athletic footwear for high-performance sports use and fitness activities.

K-Swiss Inc. saw its net income more than double in its first quarter on a 36% increase in sales. In the quarter that ended March 31, the Chatsworth-based sneaker company posted net income of $3.6 million, compared to a profit of $1.5 million in the same period a year earlier. Sales in the latest quarter rose to $42.3 million, up from $31.2 million.