Escalade, Inc. saw a turnaround in its Escalade Sports division more than compensate for a sales decrease in its Martin Yale office products division. For the first quarter, the entire company posted a 10% net sales increase to $32.8 million from $29.8 million for the same period last year. Net income was also up for the quarter, increasing 18% to $1.4 million or 11 cents per share versus $1.2 million or 9 cents in the year-ago quarter. During the first quarter of 2006, the company began expensing the fair value of employee stock options; this totaled $130,000.

Net sales at Escalade Sports increased 41.8% to $19.9 million from $14.0 million last year, driven primarily by increased basketball system sales to sporting goods chains, which came as a “direct result of the introduction of glass backboards” to the company’s premier in-ground basketball system, and to a lesser extent, by increased sales to specialty dealers. Sales into the mass market channel, which includes large mass market retailers and sporting goods chain stores, were up 45% for the quarter compared to the same period last year with basketball sales comprising 76% of this increase. Sales in the specialty market, which includes dealers and specialty retailers, were up 28% due to higher sales of playground systems, which accounted for 77% of the increase with the acquired Woodplay line contributing $700 thousand. Operating income for the division increased to $525 thousand from $43 thousand last year, while net income increased to $50 thousand from a loss of $111 thousand last year.