Outdoor financials: Garmin's Q3 profit up while sales stumble, plus Sport Chalet, Outdoor Channel, Big 5, Cabela's

Garmin’s Q3 profit up while sales stumble

Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) said profits were up in the third quarter as improved pricing and lower costs offset a drop in sales.

It earned $215 million, or $1.07 per share, compared to $171.2 million, or $0.82 per share, a year ago. Excluding foreign exchange effects, it says it earned $1.02 per share.

Total revenue was $781 million, down 10 percent from $870 million in third quarter of 2008.

The outdoor/fitness segment revenue increased 11 percent to $132 million. The company said the category again showed its strength, posting year-over-year revenue growth with strong gross and operating margins.

It also said that North America and Europe continued to experience year-over-year revenue declines while Asia improved. North America revenue was $503 million compared to $585 million, down 14 percent. Europe revenue was down 4 percent to $237 million compared to $247 million, while Asia revenue was up 8 percent to $41 million compared to $38 million.

Gross margin improved to 52.4 percent compared to 44.3 percent in third quarter 2008 and declined slightly from 52.6 percent in second quarter 2009.

Operating margin improved to 30.3 percent compared to 24.6 percent in the third quarter of 2008 and 29.8 percent in the second quarter of 2009.

Sport Chalet sales drop 7.9 percent

Sport Chalet (Nasdaq: SPCHA and SPCHB) narrowed its second-quarter net loss and saw its sales drop 7.9 percent hurt by a soft economy.

For the quarter ended Sept. 27, sales were $88.8 million versus $96.5 million last year. The company said that three new stores not included in same-store sales contributed $2.3 million in sales for the quarter, while same-store sales decreased 12.4 percent.

Net loss was $1.2 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.2 million, or $0.30 per diluted share. This year’s net loss did not reflect any net tax benefit, the company said, while last year’s second quarter reflected a net tax benefit of $2.8 million, or $0.20 per share. Without the tax benefit, last year’s net loss would have been $7.0 million, or $0.49 per share.

Gross profit as a percent of sales increased to 28.0 percent for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 compared to 26.5 percent for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percent of sales decreased to 24.8 percent from 29.6 percent in the same period last year.

Q3 revenue for Outdoor Channel jumps 58 percent

Outdoor Channel Holdings (Nasdaq: OUTD) said its total revenues for the third quarter rose 58 percent, largely from the acquisition of Winnercomm.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, total revenues were $23.6 million compared with $15.0 million in the corresponding period a year ago.

Advertising revenue dropped 5.6 percent to $9.9 million from $10.5 million in the prior-year period.

Subscriber fees totaled $4.4 million compared to subscriber fees of $4.5 million in the prior-year period.

Net income was $1.4 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, versus $2.4 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, in the prior-year period.

Big 5 Q3 profit up 80 percent

For the third quarter, Big 5 Sporting Goods (Nasdaq: BGFV) said its profit surged 80 percent as sales climbed and it better managed inventory.

For the quarter ended Sept. 27, it earned $8 million, or $0.37 per share, compared to $4.5 million, or $0.21 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $231.6 million from $223.2 million. Same-store sales were up 1.6 percent during the quarter.

Gross profit was $78.5 million, compared to $74.3 million in the third quarter of the prior year. Its gross profit margin was 33.9 percent versus 33.3 percent last year.

Selling and administrative expense as a percentage of net sales improved to 28.2 percent in the fiscal 2009 third quarter versus 29.6 percent in the third quarter of the prior year.

The company reported that sales trends have continued to improve so far in the fourth quarter. It expects fourth-quarter profit to be in a range of $0.28 to $0.38 per share.

Also, the company declared a $0.05 quarterly dividend to be paid Dec. 15 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 1.

Cabela’s sells Wild Wings unit

Cabela’s (NYSE: CAB) said it sold its wildlife-art unit Wild Wings LLC to RDE Acquisition Co. for an undisclosed amount in order to concentrate more on its core businesses. The sale closed on Oct. 30.

The company said it will still sell Wild Wings products at its stores, catalog and website.

Cabela’s did not disclose how the sale would affect future earnings results.

–Compiled by Wendy Geister

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