Tefron Sales Rise Again To $121.5 Million in ’17

2017 sales at Tefron Ltd. rose to $121.5 million, up from $116.4 million in 2016 and $93.1 million in 2015.

Meanwhile the Israel-based public company, a prominent supplier in the seamless arena, reported an annual loss of $3.2 million for its latest full year.

The earnings report explained that the company’s “production operations are carried out through subcontractors as well as by a self-production process in plants located in the Far East, Israel and Jordan. The company and its subsidiaries focus on the development, production, marketing and sale of intimate apparel and activewear which are sold throughout the world to companies with leading brands. The company operates in two operating business segments – brands and retail.”

The brands segment “engages in the design, development, production and marketing of seamless intimate apparel and activewear and leisurewear, to customers in North America and Europe with leading brands such as Under Armour.”

The retail segment “engages in the design, development, production and marketing of seamless intimate apparel and activewear and leisurewear which are characterized by purchasing large quantities of less complex products to private brands as well as brands for which the company received a franchise to customers in the retail market in North America and Europe such as Wal-Mart.”

In a section of the report where the company discusses its major customers, it noted that sales in 2017 to “Customer A” (a customer in the “retail segment”) were 43.6% of its total, or about $53.0 million, while in 2016 they were 46.6% of the total, or about $54.2 million.

Meanwhile, sales in 2017 to “Customer B” (a customer in the “brands segment”) were 16.5% of its total sales, or about $20.0 million, up dramatically from 2.4% of its sales in 2016, about $2.8 million.

Tefron also reported some changes in its sales by geographic region. In North America, by far its largest market, sales in 2017 were $111.2 million, down slightly from $114.1 million in 2016. Sales jumped in Europe to $10.2 million, up from $753,000 in 2016. And sales in Israel fell sharply to $92,000 from $1.6 million the year before.

The annual statement reported that two controlling shareholders of Tefron, Ben Lieberman and Martin Lieberman, loaned the company $2 million, in two installments, late in 2017. The loans, through a holding company, were made at low interest rates (1.3% and 1.7% respectively) and were due to be repaid by January 1, 2019.