FARMINGTON, Utah (BRAIN) — Vista Outdoors, the owner of Bell, Giro, Blackburn, Bollé, CamelBak and other brands, saw a 9.1 percent decline in sales in its most recent quarter in its Outdoor Products division, which includes those brands. The division's sales would have looked worse if not for the inclusion of sales from Camp Chef, a recent acquisition. Organically (that is, not including Camp Chef), the division saw a 12.7 percent decline in revenue, which the company said was driven by "lower sales across most product lanes."
Sales in the division were $292 million, down from $321 million in the same period last year.
But the Outdoor Product division out performed Vista's Shooting Sports division, where sales fell 18.7 percent in the quarter, to $296 million, down from $364 million last year. Profits in the division plummeted 37 percent, from $102 million to $63 million.
The company announced Thursday that it was restructuring its Shooting Sports executive structure, eliminating the division's president. It also said it would sell the Bollé, Serengeti and Cébé brands. All three brands are best known for their eyewear, but Bollé also offers bike helmets.
As expected, the company also announced that its board of directors has named Michael Callahan to serve as chairman.
Chris Metz, the company's new CEO, said, "While I've only been here a short time, I realize we have much to do: we must make significant changes, act decisively, and move quickly to reposition and stabilize the company. We will take an aggressive position on profit improvement through both margin expansion and cost reductions across all areas of the core business.
"We're in the process of completing a portfolio review of our brands, and we will divest assets where we see the potential to unlock shareholder value. As a first outcome of this process, we are announcing our intention to sell the Bollé, Serengeti and Cébé brands in the Sports Protection business. These brands were acquired as part of the Bushnell transaction in 2013 and focus primarily on fashion, prescription and safety eyewear, which are areas that we have determined are not core to our business. The sale of these brands is expected to take place over the next few quarters."
Across all its divisions Vista Outdoor's sales were $587 million in its fiscal Q2 2018, which ended Oct. 1, 2017. That was down 14 percent, when Camp Chef's revenues of $12 million were included. Not including Camp Chef, sales were down 16 percent.
CFO Stephen Nolan announced revised financial guidance for the remainder of the year.
Nolan said the company now expects sales in a range of $2.24 billion to $2.26 billion, from a prior range of $2.36 billion to $2.42 billion, and adjusted EPS of $0.50 to $0.60, down from a prior estimate of $1.10 to $1.30.
Nolan noted that Vista Outdoor's sports protection business, which includes Bell and Giro, has been "impacted by the ongoing challenges facing the cycling industry broadly and by reduced retail space for our products."
Vista's stock traded down nearly 24 percent in premarket trading Thursday, at $14.12. Its 52-week range had been $17.86 to $41.29.
