Callaway Cautious Going Into Q2 Despite Profitable Q1

Callaway Golf  "may have a tough time maintaining its momentum during the important [Q2] in the face of a slumping U.S. economy," according to Mike Freeman of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Callaway Thursday released preliminary Q1 results and reported sales of $366M while earnings reached $0.59-.61 per share. Analysts had predicted on average revenue of $347.8M. and earnings of $0.58 per share. Callaway CEO George Fellows said that his company is "being cautious looking ahead" as Q2 is "typically the strongest and will be a better gauge of how successful the year will be." Wachovia Securities analyst Tim Conder, who said that "U.S. retailers are reporting that Callaway's I-Mix drivers may be priced a little high," on Thursday "cut his full-year earnings estimate for Callaway from $1.25 a share to $1.13 a share." Conder added that golf ball sales "were strong." Callaway shares Thursday closed at $14.19 but "jumped to $15 in early after-hours trading" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/18). At presstime, shares of Callaway were trading at $15.20, up 7.12% from yesterday's close (THE DAILY).