Columbia Sportswear Company Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2012 Financial Results; Provides Preliminary Full Year And First Quarter 2013 Financial Outlook

Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ: COLM), a leading innovator in the global outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment industries, today announced an 8 percent increase in net income and a 5 percent decline in net sales for fourth quarter 2012 compared to fourth quarter 2011. Full year 2012 net income declined 3 percent on a 1 percent decline in net sales compared to 2011.

Tim Boyle, Columbia’s president and chief executive officer, commented, “Diligent expense management throughout the year enabled us to deliver solid results during what proved to be another year of unseasonably warm weather in North America. As a result, despite a slight decline in 2012 full year sales, we were able to achieve 8 percent operating margin, similar to 2011 operating margin of 8.1 percent.”

Fourth Quarter Results

(All comparisons are between fourth quarter 2012 and fourth quarter 2011, unless otherwise noted.)

Consolidated net sales totaled $501.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, a 5 percent decrease compared with net sales of $526.1 million for the same period in 2011. Changes in currency exchange rates had a neutral effect on the net sales comparison.

The company’s fourth quarter results rely heavily on the rate of sell-through in the company’s direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels, which are both heavily affected by global fall and winter weather patterns and consumers’ holiday shopping behavior.

Mild winter weather in North America during most of the holiday shopping period and general consumer caution resulted in reduced retail traffic and a more promotional environment in key markets, which caused higher order cancellations and fewer reorders from wholesale customers, as well as lower than expected direct-to-consumer sales, primarily in the U.S. In addition, approximately $9 million of factory-direct shipments of international distributors’ Spring 2013 advance orders shifted into the first quarter of 2013.

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