* Says to return to sales growth in fourth quarter
* Says FY revenue may not fall as much as expected
* Looking to expand Hispanic, golf businesses
* Says in talks to launch in India
By Nivedita Bhattacharjee
BANGALORE, June 16 (Reuters) - Sales at clothing maker Perry Ellis International Inc will start picking up towards the end of the fiscal year, banking in part on the strength of its Hispanic brands and its golf business, a top company official said.
"I think there will be revenue contraction through the third quarter this year, and then you will see things grow again in the fourth quarter," Chief Financial Officer Anita Britt told Reuters.
Sales decline for the year at the Miami-based company may not be as large as forecast earlier.
"The overall revenue for this year will probably be down about 8 to 9 percent in total," Perry Ellis President and Chief Operating Officer Oscar Feldenkreis said in a related interview.
Perry Ellis, which saw first-quarter sales fall 10 percent, had in May forecast a high-single to low-double-digit decline in sales for the year.
The company is looking to expand on the strength of its golf business and in its Latino-focused brands -- Cubavera, Havanera and Centro.
"I think there is a (likelihood of) high-single to low double-digit type increase -- even conservatively" in these segments, Britt said.
The company's golf brands, Grand Slam and PGA Tour, grew over 50 percent in the latest first quarter, and it recently signed a deal with Callaway Golf Co to design, manufacture and distribute Callaway golf and sportswear apparel in the U.S, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
CFO Britt, who pegged the Callaway business as being worth about $100 million to Perry Ellis annually over the next 3 to 5 years, expects the deal to contribute somewhat to fourth-quarter results, but to take off fully in 2010.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Perry Ellis, which generated about 8 percent of its fiscal 2009 revenues from overseas businesses, also said it is looking at entering the Indian market this year.
"We have someone in India today who is currently meeting several licensees and distributors to expand into that market," COO Feldenkreis said.
And while open to acquisitions, the company, which generated $70 million cash flow from operations in the first quarter, would rather focus on its current portfolio and maintain as much liquidity as possible.
Last year, Perry Ellis spent $33.1 million to acquire the women's wear lines C&C California and Laundry by Shelli Segal from Liz Claiborne Inc
"If something attractive comes along, at the right price, we will weigh our options," CFO Britt said.
"But we want to optimize what we have before we bite off more." (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee; Editing by Anthony Kurian)