CLEARFIELD, Utah (BRAIN) — The new owner of Bell, Giro, Blackburn and CamelBak reported a sales increase of 9 percent in its fiscal year, which ended March 31. The sales total of $2.27 billion includes new revenue from Vista's acquisitions. Vista completed its purchase of BRG Sports' Action Sports division — which includes Bell, Giro and Blackburn — in April this year. It bought CamelBak last summer.
In addition to the annual results, Vista reported strong fourth quarter results, bolstered by a surge in sales of its shooting sports products in the final quarter. Sales were up 26 percent to $612 million in the quarter and gross profits were up 33 percent.
The company did not break out results of its Action Sports division in its annual report or in a conference call with investors early Thursday.
In the call, Vista Outdoor chairman and CEO Mark DeYoung said the company remains interested in acquiring more brands. "Our acquisition pipeline remains robust," he said. He said the company could continue to seek out acquisitions while investing in its current properties. Vista is making a significant investment in increasing its ammunition production capacity this year. On the Action Sports front, he said Vista has invested in expansion of Bell's longtime distribution center in Rantoul, Illinois, as well as in tooling and R&D expenses since the acquisition.
DeYoung said the company was still examining synergies, including distribution strategies, between CamelBak and the action sports brands, noting that each do significant business in the bicycle and snow sports markets.
Vista forecast its fiscal 2017 sales will be in the range of $2.72 billion to $2.78 billion.
Vista is traded on the NYSE under the VSTO symbol. The share price was up by less than 1 percent early Thursday after the earnings announcement, to $47.02.
