Montreal – Gildan Activewear Inc. has moved to streamline its portfolio and sharpen its focus on low-cost, vertically integrated manufacturing, launching a formal sale process for its HanesBrands Australian business (HAA) while pressing ahead with a major capacity expansion in Bangladesh.
The company plans to build a second textile facility at its Bangladesh complex over the next 18 months, with initial production expected to begin in late 2027, a project it says will reinforce its cost leadership in ring-spun yarns and innerwear and support future sales growth.
Following a comprehensive strategic review of HAA, Gildan has concluded that divesting the Australian operation is in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders and aligns with its integration plan for recently acquired HanesBrands assets. HAA has been classified as held for sale and reported as discontinued operations as of the fourth quarter of 2025, and its contribution is excluded from the company’s latest financial metrics except where otherwise noted. Gildan said the move will allow management to concentrate on core operations where it can fully leverage its large-scale, low-cost manufacturing network.
At the same time, Gildan says it is committing further capital to its existing hub in Bangladesh, where infrastructure is already in place to support the Phase 2 textile facility.
Gildan expects required capital expenditure to remain within its existing capex guidance. The second plant, part of the broader Bangladesh complex, is designed to underpin the group’s cost position in key innerwear and activewear categories and is viewed as a central pillar of its long-term growth strategy.
For the latest quarter, net sales from continuing operations rose 31.3% year on year to US$1.08 billion, including one month of contribution from HanesBrands.
Excluding the $217 million contributed by HanesBrands between 1st and 28th December 2025, net sales increased 4.9%, reflecting organic growth across several categories. Activewear revenues climbed 10.3% to $788 million, driven by the HanesBrands acquisition, a favourable product mix and higher selling prices.
Gildan reported solid demand from North American distributors and continued gains with national account customers, supported by new programmes and market share increases in key growth segments.
The company highlighted ongoing strength for its Comfort Colors line and said new soft cotton technologies and brands such as Champion and ALLPRO are helping to sustain momentum.
Innerwear sales, covering hosiery, underwear and intimates, surged 170.7% versus the prior year, primarily due to the HanesBrands contribution, though slightly lower volumes reflected persistent weakness in the broader market. International sales were up 5.1% year on year, again largely fuelled by HanesBrands, partially offset by softer demand in several markets.
Reported operating income declined to $99 million, or 9.2% of net sales, from $179 million, or 21.8%, in the prior year. On an adjusted basis, stripping out restructuring, acquisition-related items, proxy and leadership-related costs and the inventory step-up, operating income rose to $223 million, up $48 million, representing 20.7% of net sales versus 21.3% a year earlier, reflecting the lower operating margin profile of HanesBrands.
“2025 was another important year for Gildan with several highlights including record revenue from continuing operations of $3,619 million, adjusted operating margin of 21.5%, adjusted diluted EPS1 growth of 17.0% versus last year, and the closing of the HanesBrands acquisition on December 1,” said Glenn J. Chamandy, Gildan president and CEO.
“Our results underscore the impressive execution by our global team whose focus is now on fully capturing the value of our expanded platform. As we look ahead to 2026, we are very excited about the HanesBrands acquisition which doubles our scale, combines iconic brands with our world-class, low-cost, vertically integrated platform, and unlocks a powerful engine for innovation and growth.
“The integration is well underway and we now expect to deliver higher than initially targeted run-rate cost synergies reaching approximately $250 million by the end of 2028 with approximately $100 million in 2026.”
