U.S. demand boosts Columbia's results

Strong demand in the U.S. in the fall lead to better than expected third quarter revenues for Columbia Sportswear, the company said yesterday.

Revenue for the quarter was $30 million above what the company forecast in July.

Total revenue fell 4% to $434.5 million. Net income fell 19.5% to $46.9 million.

The company ended the quarter with $210.5 million in cash and short-term investments.

Footwear sales rose 11 percent to $70.3 million and was the company's best performing wholesale category, led by its Sorel brand.

Sportswear declined 9% to $142.9 million.

Outerwear sales fell 5% to $199.1 million

Accessories and equipment sales declined 2% to $22.2 million.

Sales of the Columbia brand fell 6% to $370.3 million.

Columbia's backlog orders in U.S., Latin America, Asian Pacific and Canadian regions for spring are flat, which the company said was a good sign given that several of its retail customers that placed orders last spring have since gone out of business. For all regions combined, spring backlog orders are down 5 percent.

The company raised its outlook upward for the 2009 fiscal year, and now expects net sales to decline 8 to 9 percent. Previously, the company had forecast a low, double-digit decline.