The Acushnet Company golf business, which includes the Footjoy, Cobra, Titleist, and Pinnacle brands, saw second quarter sales increase 9.7% to $407.9 million from $371.8 million in the year-ago period. Parent company Fortune Brands said the increase that was on top of a double-digit increase last year. YTD sales are up 14.2%. Operating income in Q2 increased 8.5% to $73.7 million from $68.5 million in Q2 last year.
The company said that recent data show that YTD golf rounds are up 3% versus year, a number SEW notes appears to be slowing compared to last quarter. They said they also increased golf ball market share by a point at on- and off-course golf shops. Sales of golf clubs were flat versus a 20% increase in the year-ago period.
Acushnet expects to see high-single-digit growth in operating income for the year, up a bit from its previous forecast.
