UGG parent Deckers won the proxy
Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) and the aggressive investor-hedge fund Marcato Capital Management LP took the brunt of the proxy fight at the company's Thursday 14 December annual shareholder meeting.
On the one hand, shareholders supported Deckers Outdoor Corp., the parent company of the UGG brand, and all nine former board members were all re-elected. The Marcato Capital Management LP, which initially sought to overthrow the entire board of directors and later concessions nominated only three new independent directors, vanished.
Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) fell 5.36% to $ 74.15 on Thursday as investors in Deckers Outdoor Corp. have been transformed. Shares of Deckers Outdoor Corp. of Marcat Capital Management LP were disclosed in February Since then, the group has soared 65%.
For the past six months, Marcato Capital Management LP has been pressing the board of Deckers Outdoor Corp. to improve its operations and governance and even to put the group on the market. Mick McGuire, founder of the fund and apprentice Bill Ackman, a big American hedge fund, believes that if Deckers Outdoor Corp. focuses on its crown jewels UGG and divest non-core brands such as Teva and Sanuk, repurchases more than half of the public offering and reforms high Tube salary plan, the share price can double to 135-138 US dollars by 2020, and EPS can also climb to 12.68 US dollars in FY2021 from 3.82 U.S. dollars in FY17.
Deckers Outdoor Corp. announced in August it was exploring strategic options including selling, but when it released its second-quarter earnings in late October, it said it would terminate the sale process after reaching 90 entities that still could not find a potential buyer.
The group issued a public notice on Thursday stating that the results of the directors' election justify the group on the right path to recovery. The group promised in November to nominate at least two new directors by September 2018 and a new $ 400 million share repurchase program.
Currently Marcato Capital Management LP holds an 8.4% stake in Deckers Outdoor Corp. The Group's other two aggressive investors, BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) and Navigator Investments, which together hold nearly 18% of the total, have opted to stay on the same front as Deckers Outdoor Corp.
In a statement yesterday, Mick Mcguire said he still believes the status quo at Deckers Outdoor Corp. is unacceptable. He also pointed out that the board of directors of the group must make major reforms to avoid repeating many of the mistakes of the past. However, he declined to comment on whether or not to withdraw his investment in the group.
Deckers Outdoor Corp.'s revenue has reversed each year over the past three years. In the latest quarter, the group slipped 0.7% YoY to US $ 482.5m, of which the UGG brand fell 2.9% to US $ 400.4m and its profitability improved due to the restructuring plan. Its gross profit margin improved significantly by 220 basis points to 46.7% Adjusted EPS also increased significantly by 25.2% to $ 1.54. The group raised its full-year adjusted EPS forecast to $ 4.15-4.30 from the previous $ 3.95-4.15, but its net sales growth outlook was revised down to -2% from 1% -2%.
