Brunswick Corp. saw net sales increase 13% to $1.43 billion for the third quarter, up from $1.27 billion a year earlier. Net income totaled $88.4 million, or 89 cents per diluted share, up 21% from $72.9 million, or 75 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2004.
The Fitness segment posted sales of $127.4 million, down 3.6% from $132.2 million last year. However, sales were flat when excluding sales from the Omni retail stores that were divested in late 2004. Fitness segment operating earnings for the quarter totaled $14.2 million, up 69% from $8.4 million in the third quarter of 2004, and operating margins advanced 470 basis points to 11.1% from 6.4% a year ago.
The Bowling & Billiards segment saw sales increase 5.0% to $111.9 million from $106.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating earnings increased 43% in the third quarter to $5.7 million versus $4.0 million, and operating margins improved by 130 basis points to 5.1% compared with 3.8% in 2004.
The company expects diluted earnings of $3.20 to $3.25 per share for the full year and 68 cents to 73 cents per share in the fourth quarter, up from 59 cents per diluted share in Q4 2004.
