FARMINGTON, Utah (BRAIN) — Vista Outdoor Inc. sales hit $654 million in its fiscal quarter than ended Jan. 1, a 10 percent increase. The growth included sales from new acquisitions made last year; when those new sales are removed, the company saw a 5 percent decrease in sales.
Vista completed its purchase of BRG Sports' Action Sports division, which includes Bell, Giro and Blackburn, last April.
Vista Outdoor's business is roughly divided in two: its "Outdoor Products" segment includes the forner BRG brands, plus Bolle, CamelBak and Jimmy Styks, a standup paddleboard brand. It showed a sales growth of 24 percent in the quarter, to $293 million, including the new businesses. Organic sales in that segment were down 15 percent. Vista's "Shooting Sports" segment includes several brands of ammunition and firearms. Its sales were up just over 1 percent in the quarter, to $361 million. Gross profit was down 6 percent in that segment.
A Vista shareholder is suing the company over allegations that it misled investors about its financial condition prior to the announcement last month that it would take an impairment charge of $400 to $450 million. The impairment contributed to a net loss for the quarter of $377.7 million, or $6.44 a share.
The company did not release specific sales figures for its bike-related businesses in its earnings release.
"Vista Outdoor is committed to delivering long-term growth through the execution of our strategy and a focus on new product development, operational efficiencies and execution excellence," Vista Outdoor chairman and CEO Mark DeYoung said in the release.
"The challenging retail environment we experienced in our first and second quarters worsened in our third quarter following a slow hunting season and the national elections. This resulted in the need for increased promotional activity to support sales and maintain market share. We have also seen increased inventory in our retail and wholesale channels. As a result of these market factors, we announced a non-cash intangible impairment charge. Although we are disappointed in the impairment within the Hunting and Shooting Accessories reporting unit, we continue to drive improvements in our execution and innovation in our product lines. The company launched more than 150 new products during the winter show season. We have created market leading positions in numerous outdoor product categories, and we are committed to delivering long-term value from our portfolio of top brands."
