Callaway Golf Enjoys Record Sales, Double-Digit Growth

Callaway Golf reported "record annual sales and more than doubled net income" in '07, generating $1.1B in net sales, up 10% from $1.0B in '06, according to Scott Hamilton of GOLFWEEK. Net income increased from $23.3M to $54.6M. However, the company reported decreased sales and a greater net loss in Q4 '07 compared with the previous year, which Callaway officials attributed to "a larger number of product launches" in Q4 '06. Callaway's Q4 net sales declined 3% to $174.4M from $179.9M for the same period in '06, while the company posted a net loss of more than $16M compared to a loss of $10.2M the previous year. Domestic sales increased 5% last year, and the company "experienced double-digit growth outside" the U.S., including a 21% improvement in Europe to $193.3M from $159.8M. Callaway also experienced a 14% gain in Japan and "similar growth in its other Asian markets." Callaway President & CEO George Fellows said that the company is "growing distribution in China." Fellows: "We are trying to stay out ahead of that market as it develops" (GOLFWEEK, 2/9 issue). At presstime, shares of Callaway were trading at $16.21, up 4.45% from yesterday's close of $15.52 (THE DAILY).