Marine segment drives award-winning Garmin’s Q4 growth

The marine segment of world-leading electronics brand Garmin saw its revenue grow by 48% to $171.6 million in the fourth quarter, as company-wide sales increased by almost 23% to $1.35 billion, well up on Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $1.18 billion.

Marine’s sales for the quarter, led by its Chartplotters, were the highest among the company’s three segments, which include Outdoor and Fitness. For the year, Marine’s sales grew by 29% to $657.8 million and operating earnings jumped 60% to $175.7 million.

Garmin’s mid-range GPSMAP Chartplotter series was updated with higher-resolution displays and more processing power, and the new Striker Vivid series was launched with enhanced colour depth in an entry-level fishfinder. For 2021, the Marine segment is expected to show growth of approximately 15%.

During the year, Garmin’s Marine business was named Supplier Of The Year by Independent Boat Builders Incorporated, Manufacturer Of The Year by the National Marine Electronics Association, and recognised as one of the ten most innovative marine companies by Sounding Straight Only, a B2B publication for the recreational boating industry.

“The Marine segment delivered another year of impressive results as the pandemic created an opportunity for people to rediscover boating and fishing,” said Garmin’s President and CEO, Cliff Pemble. 

“We anticipate that interest in boating and fishing will remain strong. Many boat builders are sold out of 2021 models, and our retail partners are preparing for another year of strong growth.”

Pemble said that the pandemic created many new opportunities for Garmin in the health, fitness and active lifestyle sectors. All segments of the company produced total net earnings of $333.4 million. Consolidated revenue for the year reached $4.19 billion, an 11 per cent increase. Continued double-digit growth is predicted for all three segments in 2021.