Rapala VMC Corp., the manufacturer of fishing lures and other fishing-related products based in Helsinki, updated its full outlook for the year and now expects operating profits to decline “significantly below” previous year levels.

In its previous outlook issued on April 28, Rapala only indicated that profits would be below year-ago levels.

The company, which trades on the Helsinki stock exchange, said in its update statement, “The key drivers behind the decreased outlook are that open water fishing season in 2022 was short and marked by strong destocking at the retail level with very low purchase levels. Open-to-buy dollars at the retail level are at a minimum level. Weathers were also abnormal in all key continents, which caused further pressure on the season. Secondly, the whole sport fishing market is globally impacted by the difficult macroeconomic outlook with the impacts from low consumer spending when energy prices are rocketing, and inflation is high. This is confirmed by sports retailers’ reports on bad performance on sales over the summer.

“Despite the difficult trading conditions in 2022, strategy execution is not slowing down. On the contrary, it is being accelerated in several areas. As an example, supply chain and operations management areas have been accelerated in light of the fast post-covid market normalization. In the important and growing rod and reel category, Okuma is off to a very strong start in Europe. The high brand awareness, wide product range and great value of Okuma is well suitable for current market conditions. It is also rewarding to see that we are currently benefitting from our strong position in the winter fishing category, which has resulted in a strong start of the winter fishing season, confirming that there are pockets of growth, which the group will be utilizing despite the difficult trading conditions.”

Rapala’s main manufacturing facilities are in Finland, France, Estonia, and the UK. Rapala’s brand portfolio includes Rapala, VMC, Sufix, Storm, Blue Fox, Luhr Jensen, Williamson, Dynamite Baits, Mora Ice, StrikeMaster, Marttiini, Peltonen, and 13 Fishing outside of the U.S. as well as Okuma in Europe. It had net sales of €294 million ($294 mm) in 2021.

Photo courtesy Rapala