Columbia, profit climbs 52% and sales up 8% until March

Columbia overcomes forecasts and achieves a new victory. The company specialized in outdoor sports equipment has closed the first quarter of 2019 with 654.6 million dollars in revenue, 8% more than in the same period of the previous year. Its net profit also increased by 52%, to 74 million dollars.

“These results give us confidence to increase our full year financial outlook for 2019, focused on maintaining that profitable growth while at the same time making substantial investments,” stated Tim Boyle, chief executive officer at Columbia.

By countries, sales in the United States, which represent two thirds of the total revenue of the group, grew by 14%, reaching 412 million dollars. In the Latin American and Asia-Pacific regions, sales increased only by 1%, up to 132.9 million dollars.

United States takes the bulk of Columbia’s sales and represents two thirds of the total

In Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Columbia experienced a slight drop in its sales of 71.3 million dollars, down 1%. The greatest fall has taken place in Canada, where the group’s revenue fell by 7%, which was reduced to 38.2 million dollars.

By product, the namesake brand, Columbia, which represents 84.5% of the group’s sales, registered 552.2 million dollars in sales. The other brands, such as Sorel, PrAna and Mountain Hardwear, reached 102.4 million dollars boosted by Sorel, which rose by 28% in the first quarter of 2019.

The company forecasts to exceed 3 billion dollars during this year, which would mean an increase of 8% in sales. Columbia considers that the key lies in keeping the growth pace it had in the first quarter.