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.