Racine-based Johnson Outdoors Inc. reported record sales in its marine electronics segment during the third quarter, but conflicts in the Middle East led to an impairment charge in the company’s diving segment.
The one-time $6.2 million impairment charge hurt the company’s profits. Net income was down 31.6 percent to $6.8 million, while earnings dropped from $1 to 68 cents per diluted share.
Revenue for the quarter was down 1.1 percent to $139.3 million.
The result included $88.1 million in sales for the marine electronics segment, a 2.2 percent increase. The company credited strong response to the new products for its Minn Kota and Humminbird brands for the growth.
Revenue in the outdoor segment was down 15.3 percent to $13.2 million. The company said significantly higher sales of its Jetboil cooking systems was offset by lower tent sales to large outdoor retailers.
The watercraft segment reported a 1.4 percent drop in revenue to $19.3 million. Diving segment revenue was off 4.8 percent to $18.8 million.
Company executives said on-going geopolitical and economic turmoil in key diving markets in the Middle East and Europe resulted in the reevaluation of the unit’s intangible assets.
“In diving, historically one of our most profitable businesses, the goal is sustained innovation to drive share growth and we acquired Seabear to accelerate the pace of new product development for SCUBAPRO,” sad Helen Johnson-Leipold, Johnson Outdoors chairman and chief executive officer.
