Under Armour tumbles after fourth-quarter sales miss estimates

[NEW YORK] Under Armour Inc tumbled in early trading after fourth-quarter sales missed analysts' estimates, reinforcing investors' doubts that the sports-apparel maker can maintain its rapid growth.

Revenue rose 12 per cent to US$1.31 billion, the Baltimore-based company said in a statement Tuesday. Analysts estimated US$1.41 billion, on average.

The results support skepticism that Under Amour - which has doubled its sales about every three years - can maintain such a rapid pace of growth.

In October, lower-than-expected annual sales forecasts for this year and 2018 shook investors' confidence in the company. That led to a 30 per cent drop in the shares in 2016, the first annual decline in eight years. The stock is the most shorted in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The company's class A shares fell 18 per cent to US$23.65 at 7.12am in early trading in New York.

BLOOMBERG