Johnson Outdoors closed its financial year on Oct. 1 with a net profit of $6,539,000 against a loss of $9,671,000 in the previous year, following many sustained cost reduction initiatives taken in the last 18 months and thanks to a 7 percent increase in total sales to $382.4 million, up by 6 percent in constant currencies.
The management, led by Helen Johnson-Leipold, takes credit for streamlining operations, simplifying processes and keeping working capital within target levels while investing in new programs and innovative products. New products generated more than one-third of total revenues.
Diving revenues rose to $80.07 million from $80.83 million, nearly offsetting a drop in watercraft sales to $64.0 million, and the operating profit of this segment improved to $3,030,000 from $1,620,000.
A recovery in key recreational outdoor markets helped Johnson’s outdoor equipment segment post a sales increase to $48.69 million from $41.39 million, with operating profit growing to $5,881,000 from $3,360,000. In particular, Eureka! experienced double-digit growth in the consumer and military sectors.
Group revenues grew by 15 percent $75.1 million in the fourth quarter, but unfavorable currency translations had a negative impact of 2.6 percentage points on the diving division, whose sales increased marginally to $23.39 million, yielding only a slightly improved operating profit of $1,009,000. The group’s seasonal loss declined by 60 percent to $5,840,000.
