The Israeli headquartered company's sales in the third quarter of 2011 totalled $30.1 million, a 67.4% increase compared with sales of $18.0 million in the third quarter of 2010. Most notably, however, the company recorded an increase of 75% in sales of seamless apparel, compared with same quarter last year with most of the increase in sales being attributed to higher sales in the intimate apparel and active wear product lines. 

Commenting on the results, Tefron's CEO Amit Meridor commented: "I am pleased to report a significant increase in the strength of sales at Tefron in the third quarter.  We saw very good strength in sales in the intimate apparel and active wear however, of particularly note was the steep 75% rise in sales in seamless apparel in the third quarter where we have re-established ourselves as global leaders in the sector."

"We also achieved significant results in bringing in new Mass-Market customers for the retail sector in North America. We are continuing to invest significantly in developing technologies. During the third quarter we deepened development of four groundbreaking new technologies, which will serve as a basis for continued growth of the company in the coming years," Mr Meridor added.

Commenting on the sales growth, Arnon Tiberg, Tefron's Chairman, said:  "Success in significantly increasing the number of new customers for Tefron worldwide, catapulted our sales volume in the third quarter over the equivalent period last year. In addition to the rise in Mass Market sales in the North American market, we have had a strong growth in sales supplied from the Far East."

"Among the many factors contributing to the important broadening of our customer base are the improvements over the past year in the structure of our global sales operation, the introduction this year of new products in active wear and intimate apparel, and the development of new sales channels, including Home Shop Networking on TV channels and websites on the Internet," Tefron's Chairman continued.

Gross profit for the third quarter of 2011 totaled $4.6 million (15.2% of sales), compared to gross profit of $0.6 million (3.6% of sales) in the third quarter of 2010. Third quarter operating loss for 2011 declined by 82% and totaled $0.5 million, compared to an operating loss of $3.1 million in the same period last year.

EBITDA for the third quarter improved by $1.5 million to $883 thousand, compared with negative EBITDA of $589 thousand dollars for the same period last year. In the third quarter of 2011, Tefron recorded positive cash flow derived from operating activities of $2.1 million, compared to $0.8 million in the same period last year. 

The significant improvement in cash flow in the third quarter of 2011 was mainly due to the reduction in losses. The third quarter net loss for 2011 amounted to $0.5 million, compared with a net loss of $3.1 million in the equivalent quarter of 2010.

Financial highlights for the nine month period ended September 30, 2011  

Gross profit increased by $9.1 million to $13.8 million (15.9% of sales) in the first nine months of 2011 versus $4.7 million (6.9% of sales) in the first nine months of 2010. EBITDA grew $3.4 million to a positive EBITDA of $1.7 million in the nine months of 2010 versus a negative EBITDA of $1.7 million in the nine months of 2010. Operating loss was reduced by 58.2% to $3.7 million in the first nine months of 2010 from $8.9 million in the first 9 months of 2011.