Vista Outdoor reported a 23 percent sales increase to $630 million in its second quarter ended July 3, boosted by its new acquisitions of Bell, Giro, Jimmy Styks and CamelBak during the past year. The figure includes $134 million from recent acquisitions. On an organic basis prior to those acquisitions, sales were down by 4 percent.
During the quarter, Vista Outdoor completed the additional acquisition of Action Sports, which allows it to expand its offerings in cycling, snow sports and power sports. Also during the quarter, the company repurchased around 462,000 shares for $22 million.
The company's organic sales rose in the quarter by 3 percent in the shooting sports segment but fell by 16 percent in the outdoor segment, pulled down by retail bankruptcies in the U.S. and market share decreases in the optics sector, which comprises Bushnell and other brands.
The quarterly gross margin rose by 0.2 percentage points to 27.2 percent, but net earnings dropped by 14.1 percent to $29.1 million, missing financial analysts' estimates. The net result included acquisition charges of $2.4 million, up from $420,000 in the year-ago period.
Expecting improved performance in the second half of the year, the company has reaffirmed its financial guidance for the current financial year, forecasting sales for the full year in the range of $2.72 billion to $2.78 billion.
Meanwhile, Vista Outdoor has inaugurated its new corporate headquarters in Farmington, Utah. The official opening took place on Aug. 9. The new 33,000-square-foot facility, which currently houses a staff of around 70, has been designed by a Salt Lake-based studio to pay tribute to the Vista Outdoor's mission of “Bringing the World Outside,” incorporating the outdoor spirit into the building design itself. More in The Outdoor Industry Compass
