Surfwear group Rip Curl has enjoyed a 7.4 per cent lift in underlying earnings while its competitor Quiksilver recently went into bankruptcy and Billabong just returned to profit.
The privately owned wholesaler and retailer says its full-year underlying earnings rose to $28.9 million in 2014/15 compared to $26.9 million a year ago.
Net profit was down slightly due to a share buy back.
Rip Curl chief executive Michael Daly says the group's North American, South East Asian and South African businesses has been achieving double digit growth in the past five years, while its business in Australia experiences modest low single digit growth.
"Australia is a mature market. It's not expanding at a rapid rate and trading conditions are tricky," he said.
"The fastest growth areas of our business is North America, Indonesia, Thailand and our small business in South Africa is growing quite fast."
Sales in Europe were flat compared to the prior year.
Mr Daly said wetsuits and women's swimwear were there most popular items across its global network.
"Wetsuits have always been strong for us and we spend a lot of time and money in ensuring our wetsuits are the best in the market," he said.
"The girls' business has been strong in all our markets, ranging from the functional swimwear, rashies, to bikinis."
He said Rip Curl was not concerned about a possible merger between Billabong and Quiksilver.
The US investment firm behind surf label Billabong is set to take control of rival Quiksilver.
California-based Quiksilver has filed for bankruptcy and sought permission for a $US175 million financing deal with Oaktree Capital Management.
Oaktree is a major shareholder in Billabong International.
Billabong recently returned into the black with a $4.2 million net profit for 2014/15 after four years of losses.
Share
