Johnson Outdoors' shares toppled more than 10% in Friday pre-market trading after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss as pandemic-driven demand ended and it booked higher inventory levels.
The outdoor recreation equipment and technology company posted a 51% decline in 4Q net sales to $96.3 million. It swung to a net loss per share of $1.56, from earnings of $0.95 a year earlier, worse than the $0.32 loss expected by analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.
For the full 2023 financial year, revenue fell 11% to $663.8 million and earnings per share declined 56% to $1.90.
The company said sales at its Fishing, Diving, Camping and Watercraft Recreation divisions all declined.
“The end of the elevated pandemic-driven demand of the past few years, combined with higher inventory levels at retail, resulted in lower sales and profits for our 2023 fiscal year,” the company’s chairman and CEO Helen Johnson-Leipold commented in a statement.
“Our fiscal fourth quarter was particularly impacted by significantly slower demand.”
Heading into fiscal 2024, the company said it is “working hard” to outperform the challenging marketplace and improving its profitability profile.
“We’re focused on carefully managing higher-than-normal inventories and improving profitability with a defined cost savings program in place and prudent expense management,” chief financial officer David Johnson added.
“The balance sheet remains debt-free and our healthy cash position enables us to continue investing in strategic opportunities to strengthen the business and consistently pay dividends to shareholders.”
The company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per Class A share and $0.30 per Class B share.
Ahead of the opening bell, the company’s shares were 10.7% down at $48.63.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com