Johnson Outdoors Inc

NASDAQ:JOUT

Earnings Call Analysis

Johnson Outdoors Faces Sales Decline, Pushes Innovation

For fiscal 2023, Johnson Outdoors experienced a notable slowdown as total sales dipped 11% to $663.8 million compared to $743.4 million the previous year. Net income plummeted by 56% to $19.5 million, and operating profits plunged 82% to $11.7 million. Despite these challenges, the company is doubling down on innovation across its brands. In fishing, new product lines like the QUEST series and advanced trolling motors were launched. The diving sector posted growth, especially in Europe, with promises to boost the SCUBAPRO brand. Strategic changes include exiting the Eureka! camping line and focusing on the growing Jetboil franchise. Additionally, new power-assisted pedal drive technology is set to enhance their watercraft recreation offerings. Despite higher inventory levels than the previous year, Johnson Outdoors maintains a robust balance sheet with no debt and the ability to invest in its business and continue cash dividends.

Transitioning from Pandemic Peak to Pre-pandemic Normalcy

Johnson Outdoors, a leader in outdoor recreation products, navigated a notable transitional year in 2023. As the unusual highs of pandemic-driven demand receded, the company experienced an 11% decrease in year-over-year sales, landing at $663.8 million. The post-pandemic adjustment brought a steep decline in fourth quarter sales to $96.3 million, down from $196.4 million in the same period of the previous year, balancing out as supply chains normalized and significant backorders were fulfilled.

Financial Fitness Despite Market Softness

Despite the challenges, Johnson Outdoors managed a gross margin improvement to 36.8%, even as operating profit margins shrank to 1.8% compared to 8.9% the prior year. The fiscal year concluded with net income at $19.5 million, or $1.90 per diluted share, a downturn of 56%. These results were compounded by a rise in operating expenses of 13% and an increased inventory level ending about $12.8 million higher than the previous year. Nevertheless, the company maintained a prudent financial posture, ending the year debt-free, with a stable cash position to fund future strategic investments.

A Focus on Innovation and Brand Leadership

Undeterred by the market softness, Johnson Outdoors emphasized its commitment to innovation, particularly within its Fishing sector. The company unveiled the Minn Kota QUEST series and revamped bow-mount trolling motors that promise to enrich the angling experience through enhanced technology and integration capabilities. The Diving division also saw a positive trajectory, with European markets contributing to growth. Meanwhile, the Watercraft Recreation segment is set to launch the ePDL+ drive, a novel power-assisted pedal drive designed to elevate fishing experiences. However, the Camping division faced downturns, prompting a strategic exit from the Eureka! product lines to concentrate on the flourishing Jetboil brand. Collectively, these efforts are geared towards solidifying market leadership and ensuring long-term growth.

Investing in the Future amid Headwinds

Increased investment in research and development, marking a $3.7 million rise, underscores the firm’s relentless pursuit of innovation. Johnson Outdoors remains confident in its strategic pillars: consumer comprehension, innovation, market expansion, and digital experience enhancement. With an eye on long-term shareholder returns, the company continues to project confidence in its operational strength and capacity for consistent dividend payouts.

Earnings Call Transcript 2023-Q4

[Operator]

Everyone, and welcome to the Johnson Outdoors Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call will be led by Helen Johnson-Leipold, Johnson Outdoors' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Also on the call is David Johnson, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded. Your participation implies consent to our recording this call. If you do not agree to these terms, simply drop off the line. I would now like to turn the call over to Pat Penman from Johnson Outdoors. Please go ahead, Ms. Penman.

[Patricia Penman, executive]

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our discussion of Johnson Outdoors results for the 2023 fiscal fourth quarter. If you need a copy of today's news release, it is available on our website at johnsonoutdoors.com under Investor Relations.

I also need to remind you that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are made on the basis of our current views and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual events may differ materially from those statements due to a number of factors, many beyond Johnson Outdoors' control. These risks and uncertainties include those listed in our press release and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If you have additional questions following the call, please contact Dave Johnson or me. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Helen Johnson-Leipold.

[Helen Johnson-Leipold, executive]

Thanks, Pat. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'll begin with an overview of the fiscal year and fourth quarter results, and then I'll share a perspective on the performance and outlook for our businesses. Dave will review financial highlights, and then we'll take your questions.

During fiscal year 2023, we saw the end of the elevated pandemic-driven demand of the past few years. That, combined with higher inventory levels at retail led to challenging results for the year. Total company sales declined 11%, $663.8 million compared to $743.4 million in the prior fiscal year. Net income for the year was $19.5 million or $1.90 per diluted share, a 56% decline from the prior fiscal year. Operating profit decreased 82% to $11.7 million versus $66.3 million in the prior fiscal year, with the decrease in sales volumes and the 13% increase in operating expenses significantly impacting profitability.

Our fourth quarter was particularly impacted by a significant slowdown in demand. Sales in the fourth quarter ending September 2023 were $96.3 million compared to $196.4 million in the prior year fourth quarter. The fourth quarter results also reflect a challenging comparison between quarters. The last quarter of fiscal 2022 was when supply chain restrictions eased and when we filled a significant number of backlog customer orders. So it was a tough quarter and a tough year as demand in the outdoor recreation marketplace moderated, and we also began to see a return to the pre-pandemic traditional seasonality of order patterns.

In the challenging marketplace, competitive dynamics continue to be a [ growth ] of affecting pricing. Looking forward, we anticipate these dynamics will continue, and we are committed to innovation to help our brands grow and succeed.

In Fishing, innovation is key to sustaining our leadership position. We are excited by the broad line of new products we announced during the third quarter of the fiscal year. Minn Kota announced the QUEST series, the all-new brushless trolling motor technology, giving anglers ultimate control in a tough fishing environment. Minn Kota also launched a restage of all its bow-mount trolling motors with a brand-new look and updated technology suite full of angler-friendly enhancements and a more seamless integration with Humminbird technology. We are fishing industry leaders. We have great brands, and we're committed to retaining that position in this marketplace. We are excited about the momentum for the breadth of new innovation we announced, and we will continue to work hard to give anglers the best fishing experience possible.

In our Diving business, we saw positive growth in global dive markets, especially European markets continued to recover. We will leverage our innovation and brand-building efforts to ensure SCUBAPRO will be named the world's most trusted dive brand.

Our Camping and Watercraft Recreation businesses faced a significant decline with strong pandemic fuel demand over the past few years. Retailers still have high inventory on their shelves and consumer spending has slowed. In camping, we recently announced that we made the tough decision to exit our Eureka! product lines to increase our focus on the Jetboil franchise. Jetboil has experienced tremendous growth over the past 5 years, and we're working on leveraging the brand equity into expansive growth opportunities.

In Watercraft Recreation, we're excited about Old Town's boarding revolutionary ePDL+ drive. This cutting-edge technology is a power-assisted pedal drive that combines pedal and power to propel the fishing experience to the next level. This technology is new to the world, and we're looking forward to shipping Old Town ePDL+ plus soon.

While we're disappointed in our fiscal year results, we're laser-focused on working hard to outperform the challenging marketplace to improve our profitability despite current economic headwinds and marketplace softness. We will continue to invest in our key strategic drivers, understanding our consumers, sustaining innovation leadership, identifying new sources and paths of growth in our markets, and continually optimizing our digital consumer experience.

Our ongoing hard work on these priorities ensures that our portfolio of market-leading brands is well positioned for success and that we will continue to deliver long-term growth for Johnson Outdoors. Now I'll turn the call over to Dave for more details on the financials.

[David Johnson, executive]

Thank you, Helen. Good morning, everyone. I want to highlight a few items from the quarter and the year. As Helen mentioned, fourth quarter results were significantly impacted by the slower demand as well as high inventory at retail and customers managing inventory more tightly with Fishing's new bow-mount motor transition.

For fiscal 2023, operating profit margin was 1.8% compared to [ 8.9% ] in the previous fiscal year. Gross margin for the year was 36.8%, slightly improved from last fiscal year. While we experienced improved materials and freight costs versus last year, those gains were nearly offset by increases in inventory reserves and unfavorable absorption due to reduced sales volumes.

Operating expenses increased 13% or $27.3 million versus the prior year. Deferred compensation expense increased $9.3 million as a result of marketing plan assets to market and was entirely offset in other income. We also recognized $2.4 million in expense related to the exit of the Eureka! brand. Additionally, we experienced higher warranty expense of approximately $7 million. Research and development costs increased $3.7 million and higher marketing and professional services costs further drove the operating expense increase versus fiscal 2022.

Net income for the year was $19.5 million versus the prior fiscal year of $44.5 million. The effective tax rate was flat to prior year at 24.4%. Inventory remains elevated and is higher than last year by about $12.8 million. We're focused on carefully managing inventory levels as we navigate a challenging marketplace, and I expect we'll see inventory levels decline by the end of the fiscal year.

Looking ahead, we remain focused on strengthening our operating margins with an active cost savings program and prudent expense management. Our balance sheet continues to have no debt and our cash position enables us to invest in opportunities to strengthen the business. We remain confident in our ability to deliver long-term value and consistently pay out cash dividends to our shareholders. Now I'll turn to the operator for the Q&A session.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Anthony with Sidoti.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Okay. Okay. So again, -- so first, I guess, just in terms of how the -- I guess, firstly, just in terms of the inventory comment at retail, are you seeing this across all your brands? Or is it more isolated to Fishing? Just wanted to get a better understanding of what's going on in the marketplace.

[Helen Johnson-Leipold, executive]

We do see -- it varies by business, but there is inventory at retail that is slowing down demand, making our buyers a little bit questionable about the orders they play. So I think it really is in the outdoor industry pretty much across the board.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Okay. Got it. Okay. And then can you comment on the monthly progression of sales throughout the quarter? And given that you're more than 2 months into the year, current first fiscal quarter, what can you share with us in regards to demand so far? Is it similar to the fourth quarter or better or worse? Just ballpark kind of estimate if you could share, that would be great.

[David Johnson, executive]

Yes. I mean the quarter kind of progressed, it declined kind of as the season wound down. So we've really seen it go back to traditional seasonal marketplace, if you will. But it is depressed versus where it probably should be. So as we kind of look into the next quarter, we're still seeing a challenging marketplace. So we're hopeful for a good season. But right now, it looks pretty challenging.

[Helen Johnson-Leipold, executive]

It's a swing. It's really a swing in the post-pandemic. We had such great performance and now it is -- it's getting back to more of a stable market, which I think everybody thought was coming. It's always hard to predict the level of it, but it's -- we've got to work through that period. But hopefully, the season does have the energy we need.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

So should we kind of go back and look at our models and like basically see the -- so now that we're past the pandemic, like you said, the demand has dropped off. I mean are we getting back to the seasonality that you had, let's say, in fiscal '18 or fiscal '19 where you saw really March and June quarters with big revenue numbers and then the I guess, the [ shoulder ] season, like December and September quarters. Is that what you're seeing now? Is that a fair assessment of how things will look like in fiscal '24 and beyond?

[David Johnson, executive]

Yes. I believe we'll get back to traditional seasonality of the business, yes. And as we pointed out, last year's fourth quarter was really high due to [indiscernible]. So we'll get back to more of a traditional apportionment of the season.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Okay. Thanks, Dave. So you mentioned the new product lines from Minn Kota and for Old Town. Have you guys already seen purchase orders come in for those? Or how should we think about that?

[Helen Johnson-Leipold, executive]

Yes. I mean we traditionally get the orders pre-season. But as we said, we do have the -- our customers have inventory on shelf, and that's a key -- we've got -- they've got to move through that. So I would say that the uncertainty is due to the inventory they've got and we're hoping that it moves through and we will see those orders come in. But we are seeing them in now.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Okay. That's good to hear. And then in terms of the fourth quarter, so the inventory reserve impact on gross margin, can you comment on that?

[David Johnson, executive]

Yes. Part of it was due to the exit of the Eureka! business, but also just across the board, we were looking at our inventories and decided to take some reserves to the levels. So I mean, I feel good about the inventory level that we have now and that it's salable. We just -- we took some increased reserves kind of across the board.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Got you. Okay. So overall, there as much in terms of inventory [ obsolescence ] risk?

[David Johnson, executive]

As long as the marketplace and the consumer behaves as we expect, I think we're in okay shape. We obviously have to get those inventory levels down. But if we have a season that we expect, we'll be able to do that.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Got you. Okay. And then so I look back, when you announced the Eureka exit, you talked about a $4 million charge. It looks like it was $2.4 million instead. Is that correct?

[David Johnson, executive]

No, it was -- $2.4 million hit the operating expense line. Yes, that was just the operating expense effect. And part of that was actually a contribution of inventory -- donation of inventory. So the rest is in the gross margin.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Okay. All right. So overall, so the gross margin, okay, there was some impact from Eureka, okay? Got it. Okay. And then you also called out higher warranty R&D, marketing and other costs. Any way you guys can quantify that? And do you think these higher costs are something that we should also expect in fiscal '24?

[David Johnson, executive]

I think the warranty expense is getting back to a normalized level. So I would expect that to level off and move of sales going forward. I don't -- I think that's -- that was a little bit -- that increase was a little bit of a onetime increase. So I think the marketing expense, the ad promo expense, I think that's something that we'll continue to -- we'll keep investing there to make sure we maintain our market viability and our share there. So I think that will be something that will remain elevated and we'll continue to invest there.

[Helen Johnson-Leipold, executive]

We do -- this has been a very competitive marketplace, and we've got -- we're investing in the promotions to make sure that we're -- we compete from a pricing standpoint and from a consumer promotion standpoint.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Got you. Okay. And just a couple of quick other questions, if I may. So as far as the defined cost savings program that you talked about that, how should we think about -- I guess, first, if you could just [indiscernible] that a little bit more, give us maybe some details as to what you're trying to do on the cost savings side? And then how should we think about the impact on your profitability as a result of that?

[David Johnson, executive]

Sure. I mean we've got an intentional and broad cost savings program that we feel good about going into this fiscal year. Most of it is focused on product cost in the supply chain. And like I said, it's intentional, and I think it's going to bear some fruit for us this year and into the future. So that will help gross margin. And hopefully, it will help in a meaningful way, but we've got to see it play out. We'll also continue to look at expenses beyond just the product cost and make sure we're prudent there and looks throughout the enterprise for efficiencies with our expenses, too.

[Anthony Lebiedzinski, analyst]

Got you. And lastly, do you have an estimate for CapEx for F '24?

[David Johnson, executive]

I think it will be comparable to '23.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the call back to Helen Johnson-Leipold for closing remarks.

[Helen Johnson-Leipold, executive]

Just want to thank you all for joining, and I hope everybody has a happy holiday. Thank you. Have a great day.

[Operator]

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.