Acushnet Holdings Corp. posted a 4.3 percent rise (+7.6 percent in constant currency) in consolidated first-quarter sales to $606.1 million against $580.9 million, but net profit dipped 4.6 percent to $81.0 million from $85.0 million. The operating margin declined 3.3 percent to 17.4 percent from 20.7 percent in the period ended March 31, as the gross margin slid 1.2 percent to 52.3 percent for the Titleist golf and FootJoy parent.
In the EMEA, Acushnet’s net sales increased across all reportable segments and posted a 40 percent increase to $112.4 million compared to $80.6 million, helped by an easy comparison given government-ordered shutdowns in the year-ago period. But results in all other regions worldwide were negatively impacted by supply chain and fulfillment constraints. In the home U.S. market, sales declined by 4.4 percent to $295.1 million versus $308.6 million due to a $10.6 million sales drop in Titleist golf balls and a $4.6 million decline in Titleist golf gear due largely to supply chain and fulfillment constraints. Sales in Korea increased 8.3 percent to $85.7 million on gains in all reportable segments except for Titleist golf gear. Sales in Japan were down 18.8 percent to $45.8 million on supply chain and fulfillment constraints. Rest of the world sales rose 19.4 percent to $67.1 million.
With the results, Acushnet confirmed its full-year outlook that calls for consolidated net sales in the $2,175 to $2,225 million range, up 3.8 to 6.1 percent on a constant currency basis. The annual adjusted Ebitda is pegged at $325 to $345 million.
