Jarden Outdoor Solutions, which owns Coleman, Marmot, Rawlings and two dozen other brands in the fishing, outdoor and athletic space, moved solidly into the black in the fourth quarter on 4.6 percent organic sales growth and better margins.
Segment operating earnings reached $11.6 million on sales of $621.1 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a negative $1.9 million on sales of $617.8 million a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, segment earnings- or adjusted EBITDA – climbed 21.4 percent to $59.1 million, or 9.5 percent of net sales, up 163 basis points from a year earlier.
For the full year, Outdoor Solutions revenues reached $2.74 billion, up $14.8 million, which equated to 1.9 percent organic sales growth compared with $2.73 billion in 2013. Full year segment earnings reached $193.4 million, down $2.7 million, or 1.4 percent from a year earlier. Adjusted segment earnings margins remained flat at 11.0 percent.
Currency exchange impacts and other GAAP adjustments took down the segment's revenue growth rate to 0.5 percent for both the quarter and the full year.
CEO Jim Lillie said Coleman, fishing gear, technical apparel (ExOfficio, Marmot, Zoot), and Volkl experienced broad-based revenue growth. Sales of new products such as the Ugly Stiks GX2 rod, and the Volkl Mantra ski, exceeded expectations.
Winter sports a mixed bag
Overall winter sports product sales, which comprise less than 5 percent of JAH sales, was a “mixed bag.”
“Europe was terrible from a snow perspective until just recently,” said Lillie. “The West Coast of the US was and remains terrible. The Rockies have been okay. Japan has been good and New England has been healthy. I think that you will see a normal reorder pattern with not huge changes in in-stock inventory at retailers in the fourth quarter and heading into the first quarter.”
A new custom glove builder on Rawlings direct-to-consumer website turned a strong performance on the team sports side. JAH competitor Amer Sports launched a similar program Feb. 12. that enables baseball and softball player to personalize their Wilson gloves and DeMarini bats and then share their creation on social media.
The segment's quarterly and annual results lagged well behind those reported for Jarden's other two segments. Jarden Branded Consumables, which sells everything from Bicycle playing cards to First Alert carbon monoxide alerts and Mapa cleaning products to Yankee Candles, turned in organic sales growth of 13.4 and 8.9 percent for the quarter and full year respectively and segment earnings margin of 22.3 and 17.3 percent. At Jarden Consumer Solutions, organic sales of Crock-Pot, FoodSaver, Oster, Rival and Sunbeam and other small appliances grew 14.9 percent in the quarter and 7.9 percent for the full year, while segment earnings margins reached 20.8 and 16.2 percent respectively.
Lillie said he expects Jarden Outdoor Solutions to return to 3-to-5 percent organic growth in 2015 in line with guidance for total revenue provided by the company in January. Two tuck-in acquisitions that closed this month – Squadra and Dalbello – will contribute less than $30 million in incremental sales in 2015. Squadra designs and manufactures custom cycling and triathlon apparel and is being combined with Zoot, While Dalbello is an Italian ski boot company.
