True Religion Apparel, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRLG) today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results

• Total net sales increased 6.8% to $104.9 million.
• Net sales for the Company’s U.S. Consumer Direct segment, which includes the Company’s retail stores and e-commerce business, increased 9.4% to $64.4 million and accounted for 61.3% of the Company’s total net sales for the quarter. Second quarter same-store sales for the 96 stores open at least 12 full months and e-commerce increased 2.4%. The Company opened seven stores and relocated one store, ending the second quarter with 116 retail stores in the United States, compared to 102 as of June 30, 2011.
• Net sales for the Company’s U.S. Wholesale segment totaled $22.4 million, a 6.7% increase as compared to the prior year quarter. This is the second consecutive year-over-year quarterly sales increase for this segment. The increase in this segment’s sales is due to increased sales to the Off Price and Specialty store channels.
• Net sales for the International segment totaled $17.7 million, a 2.0% decrease as compared to the prior year quarter primarily due to a slowdown in wholesale sales in Korea and Canada. Partially offsetting this decrease is a 114% increase in our international retail sales due to an increase in store count from nine at the end of the second quarter of 2011 to 23 at the end of the second quarter of 2012. The Company opened five international stores in the second quarter of 2012.
• Gross profit increased 4.8% to $67.5 million, driven primarily by the overall sales growth. The gross margin rate decreased 120 basis points to 64.3%, primarily due to increased markdowns in our Outlet stores to sell through slower moving women’s merchandise.
• Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses increased 3.4% to $50.9 million from $49.2 million in the prior year quarter. The majority of the growth in the SG&A expenses was driven by the costs associated with operating 14 additional U.S. stores and 14 additional international stores in 2012 as compared to the same period in 2011. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses were 48.5% in the second quarter of 2012. In the second quarter of 2011, SG&A expenses included $1.5 million in litigation settlement expense and $0.7 million in a bad debt write off as a result of a former customer’s bankruptcy. The 2011 SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales was 50.1%, and excluding the litigation settlement and bad debt expenses the SG&A rate was 47.8%
• Operating income was $16.6 million or 15.9% of net sales in the second quarter of 2012. In the second quarter of 2011, operating income was $15.2 million. Excluding the litigation settlement and bad debt expenses, the operating margin in the second quarter of 2011 was 17.7%.
• The effective tax rate for the quarter was 36.3% as compared to 37.9% in the second quarter of 2011. The 2012 effective tax rate decrease over 2011 is linked to an increase in foreign sales and earnings being taxed at lower rates along with an increase in the estimate of U.S. versus foreign manufactured merchandise.
• Net income attributable to True Religion Apparel, Inc. was $9.8 million, or $0.39 per diluted share based on weighted average shares outstanding of 25.3 million for the second quarter of 2012. For the second quarter of 2011, net income attributable to True Religion Apparel, Inc. was $9.4 million or $0.38 per diluted share, and excluding the litigation settlement and bad debt expenses of $0.05 per share (after tax) was $0.43 per diluted share based on weighted average shares outstanding of 25.0 million.

Management Comments

Jeffrey Lubell, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Merchant of True Religion Apparel, Inc., stated, “I am pleased that our largest segment, U.S. Consumer Direct, had a same store sales increase. But, we did not achieve our sales plan due primarily to a weaker response toward our spring and summer merchandise assortment. However, we carefully managed our business throughout the quarter, including the initiation of a semi-annual sale, expanded sales efforts to specialty accounts in the U.S. Wholesale segment, and reinforced overhead cost discipline. These efforts allowed us to exceed our second quarter earnings per share forecast.”

Year-to-Date 2012 Financial Results

• Total net sales increased 10.2% to $211.7 million in the first six months of 2012, from $192.0 million in the prior year period.
• Gross profit increased 9.0 % to $136.4 million in the first six months of 2012, from $125.1 million in the prior year period. However, the gross margin decreased by 80 basis points to 64.4%.
• SG&A expense increased 7.8% to $102.5 million from $95.1 million in the prior year. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses were 48.4% in the first six months of 2012. In the first six months of 2011, SG&A expenses included $1.5 million in litigation settlement expense and $0.7 million in bad debt expense. The 2011 SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales excluding these two charges was 48.4%.
• Operating income for the first six months of 2012 was $33.9 million or 16.0% of net sales. For the first six months of 2011, operating income was $30.0 million. Excluding the litigation settlement and bad debt expenses, the operating margin for the first six months of 2011 was 16.8%.
• Net income attributable to True Religion Apparel, Inc. was $20.2 million, or $0.80 per diluted share based on weighted average shares outstanding of 25.3 million for the first six months of 2012. For the first six months of 2011, net income attributable to True Religion Apparel, Inc. was $0.74 per diluted share, and excluding the litigation settlement and bad debt expenses of $0.05 per share (after tax) was $0.79 based on weighted average shares outstanding of 25.0 million.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

As of June 30, 2012, the Company had $51.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and $149.8 million of short and long-term investments, which combined equals $201.1 million. As of June 30, 2011, the Company had $173.7 million of cash and cash equivalents. The Company ended the quarter with no long-term borrowings. The inventory balance as of June 30, 2012 was $57.9 million, a 22.3% increase from June 30, 2011. This increase is the result of our expanded retail store count from 111 retail stores at June 30, 2011 to 139 retail stores at June 30, 2012.

Net cash provided by operating activities for the first six months of 2012 was $21.6 million compared to $34.6 million in the first six months of 2011. This decrease in net cash provided by operating activities is primarily due to the reduction in U.S. wholesale sales in late 2011 compared to late 2010, which caused cash receipts to decline in 2012 compared to 2011.

Store Openings

During the second quarter of 2012, True Religion Apparel opened seven stores in the U.S., three stores in Canada, one store in Ireland and one store in Austria and relocated one store in the U.S. As of June 30, 2012, the Company operated 116 stores in the U.S. and 23 international stores. (For additional details on stores opened during the quarter, please refer to the Second Quarter 2012 Management Commentary posted on the Company's website, www.truereligionbrandjeans.com, in the Investor Relations section.)

Quarterly Dividend

The Company’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend to our stockholders of $0.20 per share. The quarterly dividend will be paid on August 29, 2012 to all stockholders of record as of August 15, 2012. Future dividends will be subject to Board approval.

Guidance

Based upon our current assessment of market conditions and the Company’s recent performance, we are updating the Company’s guidance for the year ended December 31, 2012, as follows:

• Net sales are expected to be in the range of $450 million to $455 million, assuming a mid-single digit same store sales increase for the full year 2012 in the U.S. Consumer Direct segment.
• Diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $1.80 to $1.86.

The Company’s 2012 EPS guidance reflects fully diluted weighted average shares outstanding of approximately 25.3 million and an effective tax rate of 38.6%.

Investor Conference Call

True Religion Apparel management will host a conference call to discuss the financial results and answer questions today at 4:30 p.m. ET. The conference call will be available to all interested parties through a live webcast at www.truereligionbrandjeans.com and www.earnings.com. Please visit one of these Web sites at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to register and download any necessary software. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, the call will be archived and available online at both sites. A telephone replay of the call will be available for approximately one month following the conclusion of the call by dialing (877) 870-5176 (domestic) or (858) 384-5517 (international) and entering conference identification: 397268. Please note participants must enter the conference identification number in order to access the replay.

Management Commentary

A detailed financial commentary from the Company’s management will be posted on the Company's website, www.truereligionbrandjeans.com, in the Investor Relations section.

About True Religion Apparel, Inc.

True Religion Apparel, Inc. is a growing, design-based jeans and jeans-related sportswear brand. The Company designs, manufactures and markets True Religion Apparel products, including its premium True Religion Brand Jeans. Its expanding product line, which includes high-quality, distinctive styling and fit in denim, sportswear, and licensed products, may be found in the Company’s branded retail and outlet stores as well as contemporary department stores and boutiques in 50 countries on six continents. As of June 30, 2012, the Company owned and operated 116 retail stores in the United States and 23 international stores. For more information, please visit www.truereligionbrandjeans.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Among these forward looking statements are our 2012 Guidance, expected operating and financial performance, our expectation for continued cash flow improvements and the other statements contained in this press release addressing our plans, expectations, future financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are inherently uncertain and outside of our control. Any or all of our forward-looking statements in this press release may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions we might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual future results may vary materially. Factors that may cause our plans, expectations, future financial condition and results to change are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Reports on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the SEC, and include: the impact of general economic conditions and the current economic uncertainty in global markets; the Company’s ability to predict fashion trends; the Company’s ability to continue to maintain its brand image and reputation; competition from companies with significantly greater resources than ours; increases in the price of materials or their reduced availability; and the Company’s ability to continue and manage its expansion plans.