The Acushnet Company, the Fortune Brands division that manages the Footjoy, Titleist, Cobra, and Pinnacle golf brands, saw stronger sales, favorable product mix, and manufacturing efficiencies lead to a 25.6% increase in operating profit in the second quarter to $92.6 million, compared to $73.7 million in the year-ago period. Sales increased 8.7% to $443.2 million from $407.9 million in Q2 last year.
Acushnet said new technologies in the ball business fueled a strong increase there, helping them gain share for the “entire family of Titleist golf balls.” They see new Pinnacle products driving share gains in the back half of the year for that brand as well. The company now claims more than a 50% share of all balls sold in the market.
New Titleist clubs saw strong double-digit growth and Cobra sales increased on new introductions, while higher sales of FootJoy gloves and performance outerwear helped offset “slightly lower” sales in footwear. Acushnet pointed to the timing of new product introductions for the footwear decline, but also indicated that the brand saw footwear sales grow in “key international markets.”
Based on the first half gains and back half cautious optimism, Acushnet raised its guidance for the full year, now expecting operating income growth in the mid- to high-single-digit range, up from the previous target of low- to mid-single-digits.
