Columbia Sportswear withdraws 2025 forecast citing tariff pressures
Despite the positive quarterly performance, Columbia Sportswear withdrew its previously issued full-year 2025 financial outlook, citing macroeconomic uncertainties stemming from recent U.S. tariff increases and ambiguous public policy.
For the first quarter, the company achieved net sales of 778.5 million dollars, up 1 percent or 3 percent on a constant-currency basis. Operating income rose by 4 percent to 46.5 million dollars, while net income remained relatively flat at 42.2 million dollars or 0.75 dollars per diluted share,
Chairman, president, and CEO Tim Boyle emphasized the company's proactive measures to maintain financial strength, including a robust balance sheet with 658.4 million dollars in cash and short-term investments and no bank borrowings at the end of the quarter. 'I'm encouraged by our first quarter results, with net sales and earnings exceeding our guidance range,' Boyle said.
International markets were a significant contributor to this growth, with the Latin America and Asia Pacific (LAAP) region experiencing double-digit percentage increases and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region seeing high single-digit growth in constant currency terms. These gains helped offset challenges in North America, where the company faced a softer consumer environment.
Commenting on the outlook, Boyle said, 'In light of macro-economic uncertainty resulting from U.S. tariff increases and ambiguous public policy, we are taking decisive actions to maintain the company's financial strength. As part of our Accelerate Growth Strategy, we remain committed to increasing investments in demand creation to bring our new highly differentiated marketing campaign and enhanced product assortment to life this fall.'
However, the company provided its outlook for the second quarter, projecting net sales in the range of 575 to 600 million dollars, representing growth of 1 to 5 percent.
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