The US sporting goods supplier Callaway Golf Company exceeded expectations in the first quarter of 2022 and then raised its annual forecasts on Tuesday evening. In a statement, CEO Chip Brewer praised the “strong results in all segments” and emphasized the “continued high demand”. “I couldn’t be happier with the way our company is performing,” he said.
In the first three months of the year, group sales amounted to 1.04 billion US dollars (984.9 million euros). This corresponded to an increase of 59.6 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Demand for golf equipment and textiles continued to be “very strong,” and business at the golf simulator operator Topgolf, which was acquired last spring, improved significantly during the quarter, the company said. After the spread of the omicron variant of the corona virus caused a “slow start” into the new year, Topgolf’s sales in March were well above the pre-crisis level, according to the company. Overall, Topgolf contributed $322.0 million to consolidated sales. In the previous year, it was only $92.6 million because the proceeds were only included in the balance sheet after the closing of the acquisition on March 8, 2021.
Golf sales increased 24.2 percent to $468.0 million, apparel, equipment and other products, which includes German outdoor outfitter Jack Wolfskin, grew 37.4 percent to 250, $2 million. According to the group, the “strong clothing sales” were mainly due to the TravisMathew and Callaway brands. Jack Wolfskin has “performed relatively well in view of the macroeconomic situation in Europe and China”.
The group’s operating profit reached $94.3 million. It thus exceeded the level of the same quarter of the previous year by 23.9 percent. Reported net income shrank from $272.5 to $86.7 million ($82.1 million), but that was only due to the fact that the group had special income of $252.5 million in the prior-year period as part of Topgolf – Takeover was able to book.
In view of the surprisingly strong quarterly figures, management set itself higher targets for the full fiscal year. For 2022, it now expects sales to be in the range of $3.935 billion to $3.970 billion. It had previously forecast $3.780 billion to $3.820 billion. The target range for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) adjusted for special items was raised from USD 490 to 515 million to USD 535 to 555 million.