Wolverine World Wide (NYSE: WWW) reported Q2 EPS of $0.31, $0.04 better than the analyst estimate of $0.27. Revenue for the quarter came in at $613.5 million versus the consensus estimate of $608.5 million.

Additional financial information from the quarter:

• Gross margin was 40.1% compared to the prior year's gross margin of 41.0%. The lower gross margin resulted from increased promotional activity designed to combat sluggish U.S. retail traffic in the Company's consumer-direct business and higher product costs.
• The reported effective tax rate in the quarter was 28.2%, significantly higher than the prior year due to a higher mix of earnings in the United States and the expiration of the research and development federal tax credit.
• Inventory at the end of the second quarter was down 5.1% compared to the prior year, reflecting the Company's continued effective working capital management.
• The Company reduced its interest-bearing debt by $43.0 million in the quarter, including fully paying off its revolving line of credit. The Company ended the quarter with cash of $232.4 million and net debt of $898.9 million, with the latter down $108.6 million from prior quarter end.

Wolverine World Wide sees FY2014 revenue of $2.775 billion, versus the consensus of $2.79 billion. The Company is reaffirming its adjusted earnings per share estimate in the range of $1.57 to $1.63 per share.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Wolverine World Wide (WWW) click here.