Johnson Outdoors said sales and earnings rose during its seasonally slow first quarter, citing a 14 percent rise in fishing revenue.
Net sales rose 10 percent to $93.7 million for the quarter that ended Dec. 30, 2016, compared with $85.3 million in the quarter a year earlier.
Total company operating profit for the quarter was $500,000, compared with an operating loss of $900,000 last year.
Significantly higher volume drove the favorable quarter-to-quarter comparison, the company said.
“We continue to benefit from our strategic focus and investments to enhance innovation, as our new product lineup delivered a very strong start to the year,” Johnson Outdoors CEO Helen Johnson-Leipold said in a statement.
“Cutting-edge technology advancements powered significant growth in fishing, and unique designs and improved functionality created positive momentum behind our entire new product lineup. We head into the all-important retail selling period for our products over the next six months well positioned for continued marketplace success,” she said.
New products in the Minn Kota and Humminbird brands generated strong preseason sales across key fishing channels, driving a 14 percent jump in fishing revenue.
Diving revenue increased 4 percent, driven by improved performance in key dive markets in North America and Europe.
Growth in Old Town was offset by a slowdown in sales in other watercraft recreation brands caused by a shift in the pacing of customer orders.
The company reported net income of $4.1 million, or 40 cents a diluted share, for the quarter, compared with a loss of $500,000, or 5 cents a share, in the quarter last year.
Net income for the three-month period benefited from foreign tax credits of $4.2 million recognized in the current year’s quarter because of the repatriation of about $21.9 million of cash from overseas.
