Columbia Sportswear's Q1 net sales drop by 6 percent

For the first quarter, Columbia Sportswear Company’s net sales decreased 6 percent to 770 million dollars reflecting lower wholesale net sales in the United States and Canada.

The company said in a release that full year net income is now expected to be 217 to 240 million dollars, resulting in diluted earnings per share of 3.65 dollars to 4.05 dollars.

Commenting on the results, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer Tim Boyle said: “Inventory exiting the quarter was down 37 percent year-over-year, and our Profit Improvement Plan is on track to achieve our savings targets. Based on year-to-date results, we are reiterating our net sales outlook while modestly increasing our diluted EPS range.”

Gross margin for the quarter increased 190 basis points to 50.6 percent of sales, operating income decreased 21 percent to 44.7 million dollars or 5.8 percent of net sales, and net income decreased 8 percent to 42.3 million dollars or 71 cents per diluted share.

The company’s board has approved a regular quarterly cash dividend of 30 cents per share, payable on May 30, 2024 to shareholders of record on May 16, 2024.

For the full year ahead, the company expects net sales to decrease in the range of 4 to 2 percent to 3.35 to 3.42 billion dollars, gross margin is expected to expand 80 to 120 basis points to 50.4 to 50.8 percent of net sales, operating income is expected to be 259 to 291 million dollars, resulting in operating margin of 7.7 to 8.5 percent.

For its second quarter, the company projects net sales to be 557 to 576 million dollars, representing a decline of 10 to 7 percent, operating loss is expected to be 42 to 27 million dollars, resulting in operating margin of negative 7.6 to negative 4.7 percent, and diluted loss per share is expected to be 46 cents to 26 cents.