Fishing sales take hit as Q3 sales at Johnson Outdoors dip 8%

Sales at Johnson Outdoors’ fishing division, which includes Humminbird, Minn Kota and Cannon, dipped 17% in the third quarter as the company reported an 8% decline.

In what has been described as ‘challenging’ marketplace conditions, Johnson – a global supplier of outdoor leisure equipment – saw revenue decline to $172.5m compared to $187m in the previous comparable period last year. It also reported an operating loss of $0.5m ($17.4m).

For the year to date net sales dropped 14% compared to the previous stage of the year from $567,499m to $487,972m. Total company operating loss was $0.7m compared to a profit of $34.3m. Profit before taxes for the year-to-date was $9.8m ($47.9m).

Fishing division sales in Q3 were $130,537m ($137,460m), while for the year they were $379,637m, down 16% from $430,842m.

Chairman and CEO Helen Johnson-Leipold told investors that the group is evaluating all aspects of the business to improve its financial results. “Challenging marketplace conditions, primarily due to lower consumer demand for outdoor recreation products, and heavy promotional activity have impacted our performance.

“As a result, we are evaluating all aspects of the business to improve our financial performance and are working to redeploy resources to enable growth for the future.

“While we are expanding our cost savings to boost our margins and continuing to work on reducing inventory levels, we are committed to investing in revenue and profit-generating initiatives in innovation and digital and e-commerce capabilities to position Johnson Outdoors for long-term marketplace success.

“Our debt-free balance sheet and cash position continue to enable us to invest in strategic priorities to strengthen our brands and businesses.”

“Profits remain impacted by lower sales volumes and our ongoing investment in promotional activity. Additionally, while we’ve been improving our inventory levels, progress has been slowed by the decreased demand,” said David W. Johnson, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

“As we execute against both short-term and long-term cost savings opportunities for the company, we remain confident in our ability and plans to create long-term value and consistently pay dividends to shareholders.”