Columbia Sportswear's Fall 2011 Backlog up 19%

30 Apr '11

5 min read

Columbia Sportswear Company, a leading innovator in the active outdoor apparel and footwear industries, announced net sales of $333.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, an 11 percent increase compared to net sales of $300.4 million for the same period of 2010, with 2 percentage points of that increase resulting from changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

First quarter net income increased 38 percent to $12.8 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared with net income of $9.2 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the same period of 2010.

As of March 31, 2011, Fall 2011 wholesale backlog was a record $860.8 million, 19 percent higher than Fall 2010 wholesale backlog of $725.3 million, including a 2 percentage point positive effect from changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Tim Boyle, Columbia's president and chief executive officer, commented, "Our strong first quarter results and record Fall 2011 wholesale backlog clearly indicate that the innovations, enhanced designs and compelling marketing communications behind each of our major brands are resonating with customers and consumers around the world."

Boyle continued, "Fall 2011 wholesale backlog growth of $135.5 million included increases in each of our four major brands, geographic regions and product categories, and showed a favorable shift toward our innovative products. The Columbia brand's Fall wholesale backlog grew low double-digits as advance orders for Omni-Heat styles more than doubled from Fall 2010 and Columbia footwear contributed high-teens percentage growth. In addition, the Sorel brand continued to expand with existing wholesale customers while also adding hundreds of high-quality specialty footwear customers around the world, causing Sorel's Fall wholesale backlog to jump more than 80 percent.

"Fall 2011 wholesale backlog in our Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) region grew more than 50 percent as our brands gain momentum in this key region. U.S. backlog increased low double-digits, driven by growth in the Sorel and Columbia brands. The Latin America & Asia Pacific (LAAP) region backlog increased more than 30 percent, including growth in Japan. Although we have tempered our FY2011 outlook in response to Japan's March 11 disasters, the response of our Japan management team has been commendable and we remain cautiously optimistic that the LAAP region will produce growth for the full year."

Boyle concluded, "These results are strong evidence of the increasing strength of our portfolio of global outdoor brands."

First Quarter 2011 Results

First quarter net sales increased 11 percent, driven by 8 percent growth in Columbia brand net sales to $288.1 million, 158 percent growth in Sorel brand net sales to $10.3 million and a 24 percent increase in Mountain Hardwear brand net sales to $31.7 million.

First quarter U.S. net sales grew 11 percent to $192.5 million, driven primarily by increased direct-to-consumer sales. The LAAP region net sales grew 20 percent to $67.3 million, including a 7 percentage point benefit from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Canada net sales increased 19 percent to $28.9 million, including an 8 percentage point benefit from changes in exchange rates. These increases were partially offset by a 5 percent decline in EMEA region net sales to $44.4 million, including a 1 percentage point negative effect from changes in exchange rates.

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