Garmin today reported sales of $932 million for its fourth quarter, ended Dec. 29, 2018, up 4 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Net income rose to $190.1 million compared with $142.5 million a year ago.
Sales from its marine segment were up 13 percent for the quarter, to $94.6 million. A Garmin statement noted that its new chart plotters, sonars and cartography offerings with both Garmin and Navionics content pushed up the division’s sales. Gross and operating margins for the marine division improved to 58 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
For fiscal 2018, Garmin had sales of $3.35 billion, up 7 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Net income dropped to $694.1 million, compared to $709 million in fiscal 2017. Sales in the marine division were up 18 percent to $441.6 million for the year.
“2018 was another remarkable year of revenue and operating income growth driven by strong performance in our aviation, marine, outdoor and fitness segments,” said Cliff Pemble, president and CEO of Garmin Ltd. in the statement. “Entering 2019, we see many opportunities ahead and believe that we are well-positioned to seize these opportunities with a strong lineup of products across all of our segments.”
The company forecasted about $3.5 billion in 2019 sales, with earnings per share of about $3.70. Garmin expects marine sales to be up about 10 percent this year.
