Fortune Brands, Inc. is reporting that first quarter comparable revenues in the companys Acushnet Golf segment, which excludes foreign currency exchange rates, the impact of the sale of Cobra and restructuring and other charges sales in the continuing businesses grew 17 percent and operating income grew more than 30 percent.  Reported GAAP revenues rose 4.7 percent to $370.1 million and operating income shrank 2.5 percent to $43.3 million.


Sales reportedly achieved a first quarter record as new products drove strong growth in each product category. Sales for the Titleist brand were said to be sharply higher on very strong initial demand for the new Pro V1 golf balls and 910 metals.  Titleist clubs posted double-digit growth for the period. Sales of the new DryJoys Tour golf shoes in the U.S. and the new Icon shoe in Asia, as well as gloves and performance outerwear, drove double-digit growth for FootJoy.


Comparable sales for Titleist and FootJoy were up at in the mid-teens in the U.S. and up in the high-teens internationally in constant-currency terms, reflecting growth in all regions with particularly strong gains in Korea, Japan, the Pacific basin and Canada.


On a conference call with analysts, Fortune Brands management said that nearly half of Acushnet Golf sales now come from outside the U.S. and that investments in priority international markets continue to pay off in strongest growth.  They have reportedly made investments to build sales and marketing infrastructure in Korea, China and Japan. 


The company is expanding its customer-fitting capabilities to these markets and they have opened a new ball plant in Thailand to serve the market.


Management said they continue to expect the global golf market to be up at a low-single-digit range again in 2011 and expect the Acushnet Golf business to outperform the market. The Japan earthquake after-effects are expected to impact second quarter results but management said they expect any near-term impact in Japan will be offset over the course of the year by upside in other markets.


For the parent, Fortune Brands posted net sales of $1.76 billion in the first quarter, up 8 percent versus the prior-year period.  Net income was $81.2 million, or 52 cents per diluted share, compared to 47 cents in the year-ago quarter. Excluding charges and gains in both the current and prior-year periods, diluted EPS was 59 cents, up 20 percent from 49 cents in Q1 2010.