Johnson Outdoors records fiscal Q1 loss
February 2, 2012
Filed under News
RACINE, Wis. – Johnson Outdoors reported today that revenue grew 2 percent in the first fiscal quarter of the year, despite a 66-percent drop in military sales year-over-year.
Overall, Johnson reported a net loss of $2.9 million during the typically slow first fiscal quarter, compared to a net loss of $1.2 million in the same quarter last year. The company said charges and expenses related to long-term infrastructure and fixed asset reductions contributed to higher losses in the current period versus the prior year.
Double-digit sales growth in marine electronics and watercraft allowed the company to offset the significant reduction in military tent sales during the company’s historically weak first quarter, which ended Dec. 30, 2011, the company reported in a release.
Revenue from marine electronics increased 11 percent in first quarter of 2011 compared to 2010, which the company says was due to a more than 25-percent increase in sales of its Humminbird side-imaging technology, as well as down-imaging and sonar technology products.
Watercraft sales grew 22 percent, according to the company, due to low-margin year-end close-outs in the sporting goods market.
“Steady recovery of outdoor recreational markets remains central to continued progress against our strategic plan to ensure sustained profitability,” Helen Johnson-Leipold, chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Current economic conditions in key regions present a mixed picture of expectations for outdoor markets the remainder of the year.”
