Lakeland Industries Issues Shareholder Letter, Outlook for Fiscal 2027

Lakeland Industries issued a letter to shareholders from Jim Jenkins, President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman. "Lakeland Fire + Safety's fiscal year 2026, which ends January 31st, was underscored by both opportunities and challenges. While we made meaningful strategic progress, our financial results did not meet our expectations, nor those of our shareholders. We recognize that clearly, and we are taking decisive actions to address it. During 2024, we completed four accretive acquisitions that expanded our product portfolio, geographic reach, and service capabilities, as part of our strategy to build a portfolio of premier global fire brands in a fragmented $2 billion market... Lakeland LHD secured a contract renewal of up to 12 years with Fire and Emergency New Zealand, extending a relationship that spans more than 22 years... Despite these wins, external and internal factors combined to materially impact our results. New tariffs, freight cost increases, raw material inflation, and broader supply-chain disruptions affected both Lakeland and our peers.. Looking ahead, our focus is on accelerating growth while improving execution and profitability. Fiscal 2027 is shaping up as an important year as we enter multiple global tender cycles with a significantly stronger and broader product portfolio. We are actively pursuing approximately $178 million in global tender opportunities, including roughly $38 million of opportunities over $100,000 in value with high probabilities of success. While macroeconomic uncertainty remains, our long-term strategy and market positioning are unchanged. As a tangible expression of confidence in Lakeland's future, I have recently made open-market purchases of Lakeland common stock, and other members of our management team have also increased their ownership through open-market purchases."