“Third quarter performance was led by international-direct markets, with Canada, Europe-direct and China all delivering over 20% year-over-year growth in constant currency. In the US, the marketplace remains challenging, but we are making meaningful progress on our inventory reduction plan, with inventory exiting the quarter down 16% year-over-year”, commented Tim Boyle, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. “As we enter our peak selling season, we have numerous activations across our brand portfolio to engage consumers and drive sales, including product collaborations, pop-up shops and continued momentum in Columbia’s Omni-Heat Infinity collection”, he concluded.

Third Quarter Results

In the third quarter of fiscal 2023, Columbia Sportswear’s net sales amounted to 985.7 million US dollars, reflecting an increase of 3% (or by 3% on a constant currency basis), as compared to the same period of last year.

In the US, amid a challenging marketplace environment, the company’s third quarter net sales totalled 635.4 million US dollars, up by 5% (or by 5% on a constant currency basis), and in Canada, they rose significantly by 33% (or by 38% on a constant currency basis) to 105.5 million US dollars, on a comparable basis to a similar period of 2022.

Additionally, in Latin America and Asia Pacific, Columbia’s net sales remained stable (up by 4% on a constant currency basis) at 115.4 million US dollars, while in Europe, Middle East and Africa, they decreased by 16% (or 21% on a constant currency basis) year-over-year to 129.4 million US dollars.  

The company’s gross margin improved by 70 basis points from the third quarter of 2022 to 48.7%, due to “lower inbound freight costs and favourable channel mix, which more than offset the impact of inventory reduction efforts across our wholesale and DTC businesses”.

In the three months to the 30^th of September, Columbia’s operating income declined by 7%, totalling 134.6 million US dollars, on a comparable basis to the third quarter of the prior year.

The US-based company also posted a net income decrease of 7% in the third quarter of the current fiscal year to 103.5 million US dollars, or 1.70 US dollars per diluted share, as compared to a similar period of the previous year.

Nine Months Results

In the first nine months of 2023, Columbia Sportswear’s net sales grew by 6% as reported and by 7% on a constant currency basis, on a comparable basis to the same period of last year, reaching 2.43 billion euros.

However, in this period, the company’s net income to date totalled 158.1 million US dollars, or 2.56 US dollars per diluted share, as compared to the first nine months of 2022.

Full Year Outlook

Columbia Sportswear expects its full year net sales to increase between 0.5% and 2.0% (previous: up by 2.0% to 3.5%), resulting in net sales in the range of 3.48 billion US dollars to 3.53 billion US dollars (previous: 3.53 billion US dollars to 3.59 billion US dollars), as compared to 3.46 billion US dollars in 2022.

Furthermore, the company anticipates a net income of between 275 million US dollars and 290 million US dollars (previous: 272 US dollars to 288 US dollars), and diluted earnings per share of from 4.45 US dollars to 4.70 US dollars (previous: 4.40 US dollars to 4.65 US dollars).