Vancouver’s Nautilus Inc. had a pumped-up year as the fitness equipment company reported robust earnings on Tuesday.
In preliminary results, Nautilus saw sales reach $109 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 15 percent increase from the same period in 2014.
For all of 2015, sales are expected to be $336 million, a 22 percent increase from 2014.
“We are pleased to report another strong quarter,” said Nautilus CEO Bruce Cazenave during an investor call, “mostly attributable to the successful marketing of new products.”
Diluted earnings for the fourth quarter are estimated at $0.31 to $0.33 per share.
Per-share earnings were dinged by the acquisition of Octane Fitness in December, an arbitration settlement expense, lost royalties in a licensing dispute and the write-off of the company’s nutrition inventory.
“We needed to see more from nutrition to justify the amount of effort being applied to it,” Bill McMahon, the company’s chief financial officer, told investors as he announced the end of the Bowflex Body line of nutrition products. “(The decision) highlights our commitment to remain disciplined.”
The stock price for Nautilus closed at $17.94 Tuesday, a gain from $14.41 on the same date a year ago. The company’s stock price ranged from a high of $22.81 to a low of $14.13 over the past 52 weeks.
Nautilus stock soared as high as $21.04 earlier this month after the company announced it was buying Minnesota-based Octane Fitness for $115 million in a purchase financed through an $80 million loan and cash on hand. Nautilus brands are largely distributed direct-to-consumer and through third-party retailers. Octane equipment, which includes higher-priced products than the Nautilus line, has distribution to specialty fitness stores as well as gyms, corporate campuses, professional sports teams, governments and armed services.
Nautilus attributed 2015’s earnings growth to both retail and direct sales. “We are very encouraged by the consumer response … as we enter peak fitness season,” McMahon said.
The recent grand opening of The Nautilus Shop, a company-owned retail store on its campus in east Vancouver, will not be a major driver of sales so much as a way to grow and shape products and retail experiences, Cazenave previously told The Columbian. The shop is connected to the Nautilus Innovation Center, which opened last spring.
“We are cautiously optimistic about our ability to deliver strong results in 2016,” Cazenave said. “We will remain true to the formula that has driven our success to date.”
